After a two-week delay, the local Cypriot investigation of the Helios crash is now underway. I would expect that there will be frequent articles appearing in the Cyprus Mail, similar to the following from today's online edition.
Inquiry hears of ‘poor staffing and communications problems’ in Civil Aviation
By Alexia Saoulli
THE COMMITTEE of inquiry for last year’s tragic Helios plane crash yesterday heard the Civil Aviation department was insufficiently staffed, lacked organisation and had difficulty meeting its obligations.
The assessment was made by department head Leonidas Leonidou who was called to testify as part of the local probe into the airline disaster which killed 121 passengers and crew members last August.
Reports suggest that the crash was caused by a combination of pilot errors, decompression problems and a problematic alarm system.
In his testimony, Leonidou, who was appointed head of department just under two months after the crash, told the committee the fact that the department came under the Communication Ministry often hindered procedures. He said it was his estimation that perhaps the department would operate more efficiently if it were an independent authority.
During yesterday’s proceedings former Supreme Court judge Panayiotis Kallis, who heads the committee, read out extracts of letters and reports from foreign aviation organisations that pointed out the severe shortcomings of the department regarding the correct supervision of the airline with respect to problems that could have put flight safety at possible risk.
Specifically Leonidou heard extracts from five letters and reports from foreign organisations, including the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the UK Civil Aviation Organisation, which found severe problems with the way the local aviation department supervised Helios.
According to CyBC, a letter from the UK Civil Aviation Organisation dated July 2004 drew attention to what problems the airline needed to address to improve flight safety. According to the report the UK body had downgraded the report from a Level 1 safety issue, to a Level 2 issue, so as to give Helios time in which to comply with the report’s observations. The airline was given a month to comply.
Due to the date of Leonidou’s appointment to the position of department head he was unable to answer a lot of the committee’s questions.
The inquiry proceedings will continue today.
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