Five face manslaughter charges over Helios crash
By Elias Hazou
FIVE people face charges of manslaughter and of reckless and wanton endangerment that caused the death of 121 people aboard a Cypriot commercial airliner more than three years ago.
The suspects are all former members of now-defunct Helios Airways, operators of the doomed jet.
“The charges concern two of the gravest offenses in criminal law,” deputy Attorney-general Akis Papasavvas told reporters yesterday after revealing that the bill of indictment had been filed with the Nicosia district court.
“The charges are manslaughter, and causing death through a reckless, careless and dangerous act.”
Papasavvas declined to name the suspects, saying it would be “unethical” to do so before the charge sheets were actually served.
This should be done over the next few days, he said.
“Be patient. All we can say at this point is that both charges apply to all five suspects,” he told the Mail later in the day.
Reports say the charge sheet is massive, and that it contains hundreds of separate indictments levelled against the five.
Under Cyprus law, a person found guilty of reckless endangerment leading to death faces a sentence of up to four years in jail; the maximum sentence for manslaughter is life imprisonment.
Papasavvas said the suspects had until February 26 (3pm) to appear before court and answer the charges – effectively to enter a plea.
“The ball is now in the court of the justice system,” said Papasavvas.
The deputy AG declined also to say whether any of the suspects posed a flight risk.
“Hypothetically speaking – and I stress that – if this were the case, there are ways around it, such as through issuing a European arrest warrant. Again, this is hypothetical, in response to your question,” said Papasavvas.
It has been three-and-a-half years since a Boeing 737 operated by Helios Airways smashed into a ravine 40km outside Athens, killing all 121 people on board. The subsequent accident probe blamed pilot error primarily, but also cited as latent, or underlying, reasons the organisational shortcomings within the airline as well as Civil Aviation.
A similar judicial investigation is underway in Greece – the site of the accident – where earlier this year an Athens prosecutor charged six people with manslaughter. Reports at the time said the suspects were
two Britons, one Bulgarian national and three Cypriots.
Yesterday’s news was greeted with measured satisfaction by the friends and families of the air crash victims.
“We have waited three-and-a-half years for blame to be apportioned… but at least it’s a positive step forward,” said Nicolas Yiasoumi, a spokesman for the bereaved relatives.
“At long last, someone is facing the dock. But for us, going before a court is not enough. When the court punishes the guilty, that will be justice. We believe that 121 people were murdered in the air,” he added.
The relatives have meanwhile filed a class-action suit against the government – specifically the Department of Civil Aviation – for negligence that led to the air disaster. They claim that the DCA was turning a blind eye to airlines’ loose enforcement of regulations, and that in general the department cut corners when it came to flight safety.
Neither the criminal nor the civil trials are expected to end any time soon and, if the Cypriot justice system is anything to go by, the cases could drag on for years.
What is reckless endangerment?
A person commits the crime of reckless endangerment if he or she recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person. “Reckless” conduct is conduct that exhibits a culpable disregard of foreseeable consequences to others from the act or omission involved. The accused need not intentionally cause a resulting harm or know that his conduct is substantially certain to cause that result. The ultimate question is whether, under all the circumstances, the accused’s conduct was of that heedless nature that made it actually or imminently dangerous to the rights or safety of others.
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