Helios Airways Flight 522
2005 aviation accident in Greece
Why this is trending
Interest in “Helios Airways Flight 522” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-20.
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Key Takeaways
- Helios Airways Flight 522 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Prague, Czech Republic, with a stopover in Athens, Greece, operated by a Boeing 737-300.
- It is the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history.
- A ground engineer had set it to "manual" to conduct testing before the flight, but had most likely forgotten to restore it to "auto" afterward.
- This caused the plane to gradually depressurize as it climbed, and resulted in everyone on board suffering from critical hypoxia.
- Background Aircraft The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1998, was a Boeing 737-300 registered as 5B-DBY.
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Source summary
WikipediaHelios Airways Flight 522 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Prague, Czech Republic, with a stopover in Athens, Greece, operated by a Boeing 737-300. Shortly after takeoff on 14 August 2005, Nicosia air traffic control (ATC) lost contact with the pilots operating the flight; it eventually crashed near Grammatiko, Greece, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history.
An investigation into the accident by Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board (AAIASB) concluded that the crew had failed to notice that the cabin pressurization system was set to "manual" during takeoff checks. A ground engineer had set it to "manual" to conduct testing before the flight, but had most likely forgotten to restore it to "auto" afterward. This configuration was subsequently missed by the crew during their pre-flight checks. This caused the plane to gradually depressurize as it climbed, and resulted in everyone on board suffering from critical hypoxia. The negligent nature of the accident led to lawsuits being filed against Helios Airways and Boeing, with the former also being shut down by the Government of Cyprus the following year.
The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1998, was a Boeing 737-300 registered as 5B-DBY. The aircraft was powered by two CFM International CFM56-3C1 engines.
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