15 October 2017, 18:00
BEA / CY 284, 12 OCTOBER 1967 - 66 DEFECTS
FIRST blew CIVIL AIRPLANE IN EUROPE IN RECENT HISTORY ... IN ACCORDANCE WITH Unchained BRITISH DOCUMENTS CONFIRMED BEYOND ALL DOUBT THAT BOMB MILITARY TYPE responsibility for blowing
Nearly cradle all reports in the British press reported the headlines for days that the objective of the bombing was the assassination of General George Grivas Dighenis, head of the National Guard. It was certain that the General would travel with that flight, but at the last minute he fouled
On October 12, 2017, it was the 50th tragic anniversary of the British Airways British Airways blast, 4B G-ARCO comet. According to the released British documents, it is undoubtedly confirmed that a military-type bomb was responsible for blasting.
On October 11, 1967, the plane took off from London Heathrow Airport to Athens on its way to Nicosia. The London-Athens flight was operated by British European Airlines and from Athens to Nicosia was transferred to CY 284 flight of Cyprus Airways. In a distance of 100 miles east of Rhodes, a bomb exploded in the airplane, resulting in the death of all passengers and crew - a total of 66 people lost their lives so tragically.
The plane took off from Athens on 02.31 and on 03.18 it tried to communicate with the Nicosia Control Tower, but nothing else followed, resulting in 04.40 to run for an airplane from the Akrotiri base. At 06.25 the debris of the airplane was located exactly in the area where it had attempted to communicate with Nicosia. Turkish ships spotted and gathered 19 bodies and another 32 bodies picked up a Greek destroyer, which they transported to Rhodes. The British authorities have requested that the bodies be transferred to Cyprus, but it has not become feasible.
A total of 51 died, with 11 being missing, but dead.
The crew consisted of Captain GD Blackwood, First Officer MP Thomas, First Officer DE Palmer and flight attendants N. Hassapopoulos, Y. Loizou, T. Efremis and K. Fotis.
Surveys
The Department of Commerce of the United Kingdom immediately ordered investigations, for which several departments worked together. At the same time, BEA conducted its own investigations, resulting in the same finding.
The UK Department of Commerce was delivered in April 1968 by the JB Veal Chief Inspector of Accidents and the other by the Chief of Metropolitan Police. The first report / survey referred to the causes of the fall and was published in August 1968 and is released. The second concerns the Metropolitan Police investigations and covers the criminal aspect of the murder of the victims. It is in two files in the British National Archives and remains secret, with a prospect of release in 2040.
I understand that until now the Cypriot state does not confirm that it was a bomb that is responsible and is used to claim that it was an "innocent" crash.
Copies of the Cypriot Government
This is unjustifiable by successive Cypriot governments because the released British documents confirm that the findings of the investigations into the causes of the fall, issued in August 1968 by the British Department of Commerce, were given to the Cypriot Government for the Cabinet briefing (6) copies.
Therefore, there is no justification for denying the truth when it is written briefly in the statement given to six copies:
"Cause - The aircraft broke up in the air after detonation of a high explosive device inside the cabin". (Cause - The airplane was airborne when a large explosive device exploded inside the cabin).
"Research by RARDE (Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment) went as far as researchers are able to say that they are 100 percent sure that there was a high-explosive mechanism." And in a report by RARDE himself - "A high explosion testimony (military or other similar - but not ordinary" gelignite "- gelatin) was found as a result of a detailed examination of a seat cushion of a particular seat ..."
On January 18, 1968, British newspapers wrote that "Undersecretary of Commerce JPW Mallalieu, in his written statement to the House of Commons, said that it was undisputed testimony that a powerful explosive mechanism was responsible for blowing up the airplane ..."
The "Birmingham Post" published a photo of RARDE's VJ Clancey explosive specialist, holding the seat cushion that blew the plane, with a caption that a military-type explosive was used.
The Ministry Internal Affairs refused to give a copy of the police investigations to the Court of Athens.
On August 1, 1968, Of Britain's Home Office informed Falrein Ophis that they would not give a copy of the police investigation to the Public Prosecutor of the Athens Court. They wrote: "The content of the Metropolitan Police officers' report is such that we can not give a copy to the Greek Authorities. The best way to handle the matter is to give them a copy of the head of research report and avoid any references to the police investigation ... "
Abraham Solomou
In the documents, while referring to the relatives to whom the victims' remains were handed over, in the case of passenger Abraham Solomou, and although his wife is marked as the immediate relative, his body is recorded as "F / d of the Cyprus Embassy in Athena". Passenger A. Solomou encountered a problem when he persistently demanded to travel on flight 284 without a ticket, refused to fly another flight and claimed that he was wrong at Nicosia Airport and lost his ticket. The head of BEA PD Antram in a report on January 15, 1968 wrote: "Consider Mr. Solomon's insistence as a suspect. Perhaps he was carrying explosives that he wanted to deliver as soon as possible. "
The goal
Almost initially, all British press reports reported headlines for days that the aim of the bombing was the murder of General George Griva Digeni, head of the National Guard. It was assumed that the General would travel on that flight, but at the last moment he fumbled.
On January 9, 1968, Brixton Prisoner, named P. Georgiades, informed the signatory authorities that he had information to give them a hysterogram saying: "I was present at a meeting when a high-level military person came to this country to discussing a plan to overthrow the regime, "and called them another person who lived in London, whom the English had transferred during the EOKA struggle 1955-59 for protection, that he could also give them information. On February 17, 1968, Evening Standard wrote that the Police had a broom and was investigating "Little Cyprus", Camden Town, asking for information, and that the Police believed that the target was Grivas.
In his book "The Biography of General Grivas", volume 3, the author Leonidas Leonidou wrote that, six years later, a close collaborator of Griva revealed to him:
"I reveal to you that I have valid information that the fall of the" comet "of Cyprus Airways on October 12, 1967 was your target. It is known that you will translate with that flight ... Hold on, because, at the last moment, you have taken the journey. They had a clock. They have been prepared by the Ministry of Interior.
"The deferment of your voyage, which was not awaiting it, and the wrong resettlement of the bomb meant that the plane had fired from the explosion and killed the confidant who had taken the placement, frustrating his own departure if you were on board. Do you know all that? Why are not our newspapers? "
And the writer adds to the book, which involves the assassination attempt with the events in Cyprus and Grivo's refusal to interfere with the National Guard in actions against the Turkish Cypriots:
"These strange details again involve the Cypriot Minister of Interior, Polykarpos Giorkatzis, because the explosion took place under the seat of Abraham Solomou, then the leader of the Foreign Minister Spyros Kyprianou, who was acting under orders of Yiorkatzi ...".
Request for release
In November 2015, the writer submitted an application under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the two police files. It was rejected on the grounds that the nature of the crime is so serious that, if the information is released, it will cause great public interest in a new investigation of the crime. That some exhibitions and photographs are so brilliant that they will cause mental disruption to relatives, etc. The police want these details to remain confidential until any hypothetical suspect reaches the age of 100. But at the same time, they do not rule out the possibility of releasing the files earlier ...
FANOULA ARGYROU
Researcher / journalist