Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-08-17

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] THE COCKPIT HAS THE ANSWERS

[02] FAREWELL TO VICKY MOSCHOLIOU

[03] A LITTLE BOY WAS ALIVE AFTER IMPACT

[04] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT IN ATHENS

[05] SIX-MONTH SUSPENDED PRISON SENTENCE TO THE PRANKSTER

[06] A FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRIED TO LAND THE DOOMED AIRPLANE

[01] THE COCKPIT HAS THE ANSWERS

The investigation on the causes of the Cypriot airline Helios Airways Boeing 737-800 crash near Athens last Sunday that killed all 121 people on board continues in Greece and Cyprus in total secrecy.

Investigation on the causes of the crash should focus on the cockpit, stated a Boeing representative characterizing the accident as strange in statements made to the Athens newspaper TA NEA.

Cyprus Police Chief Tassos Panagiotou stated that for as long as there is evidence investigation will continue to go deep.

The effort to regain the control of the airplane is attributed to a person on board that had a pilot's license. The F-16 pilots that escorted the doomed passenger plane had testified that they saw an individual trying to save the plane.

The bodies of 23 crash victims have arrived in Larnaca, Cyprus on board a military C-130 transport plane.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated in a telephone communication she had with Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos that the United States is ready to offer any assistance Greece and Cyprus will request.

[02] FAREWELL TO VICKY MOSCHOLIOU

The body of popular Greek singer Vicky Moscholiou, who died yesterday in an Athens hospital after a long battle with cancer, will be lying in state until 8 pm this evening.

The funeral will be held tomorrow public expense. Vicky Moscholiou gave a brave battle to win cancer for the past 2 years.

She began singing in the early 60s and had worked with the leading Greek music composers.

[03] A LITTLE BOY WAS ALIVE AFTER IMPACT

A little boy 5 to 6 years old, whose severely burned body was recovered from the plane's wreckage, was still alive after the Helios Airways airplane hit the ground at Grammatiko near Athens last Sunday, according to the autopsy performed by coroner Nikos Kalogrias.

He stated that traces of smoke were found in the boy's trachea which means that even after impact the little child was breathing for an undetermined period of time which could have been only just a few seconds.

According to the medical examiners, the same could be observed in other identifiable bodies on which no autopsies have been performed yet.

The medical examiners stated that in case of freezing temperatures inside the plane or in case of violent decompression the bodily organs of the victims would have had a much different appearance from what they have.

Chief medical examiner Mr. Kotsaftis told reporters that the passengers possibly inhaled contaminated oxygen or some kind of a dioxide which filled the passengers' cabin through the air-conditioning system. That caused the loss of consciousness or even a comatose condition.

Meanwhile, lab tests will be made on urine samples taken from the copilot and an air stewardess and in 5-7 days will be known if the plane's crew or certain of its members had consumed large quantities of alcohol or used drugs before the ill-fated flight.

[04] THE CYPRIOT PRESIDENT IN ATHENS

Cypriot Republic President Tassos Papadopoulos arrives in Athens this afternoon.

He will visit the Ministry of Interior to be briefed on the Helios Airways passenger plane accident by Minister of Interior Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Minister of Transportation Michalis Liapis, as well as Deputy Minister of Health and Social Solidarity Giorgos Konstantopoulos and Civil Protection General Secretary Panagiotis Fourlas.

Tomorrow morning, he will meet with Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, PASOK Socialist Party leader Giorgos Papandreou, Communist Party Parliament spokesman Orestis Kolozov and Coalition President Alekos Alavanos.

[05] SIX-MONTH SUSPENDED PRISON SENTENCE TO THE PRANKSTER

The 32-yearold, who maintained that he had received a text message on his mobile phone by his cousin, allegedly a passenger of the doomed Helios Airways plane, received a 3-year suspended sentence of 6 months by a Thessaloniki court.

The prankster, who has serious health problems as a result of a muscle disease, apologized in tears to the families of the crash victims.

The court acquitted him from the accusation concerning the dissemination of false news but found him guilty of giving a false report to the authorities after taking under consideration that he had a previously clean police report.

[06] A FLIGHT ATTENDANT TRIED TO LAND THE DOOMED AIRPLANE

Flight attendant Andreas Prodromou appears to be the one who tried unsuccessfully to land the doomed Helios Airways plane at Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport.

It appears according to relevant news reports on the Athens newspapers TO VIMA and Eleftheros Typos, that based on evidence gathered by the Greek authorities and information provided by the airline, Andreas Prodromou was one of the two male flight attendants on board who managed to remain conscious and tried to regain the control of the plane when he found out that the captain was not in the cockpit and the co-pilot was unconscious on his seat.

The airline informed the Greek government that Andreas Prodromou had taken pilot courses for small airplanes in Britain and had a very good picture of the airplane's flying condition.

According to press reports, the mistake made by the 25-yearold flight attendant was that he did not put on the headphones to receive instructions either by the F-16s or the control tower at Eleftherios Venizelos. However, he made a move that under certain conditions it could have proved to be lifesaving for the passengers. Namely, he deactivated the autopilot and tried to activate the procedure of automatic airport approach by gradually lowering the plane and cutting speed.

The F-16 pilots reported that a second individual was also present in the cockpit possibly, air stewardess Luisa Vouteri.

But it was already too late. The plane suddenly lost altitude when its fuel tanks were emptied after flying for 3 hours and a few seconds later it crashed at Grammatikos near Athens.

According to Eleftheros Typos, Charis Charalambous, Andreas Prodromou's girlfriend, was also an air stewardess and a member of the doomed airplane's crew.

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