#GhostPlane #Helios522 #Hypoxia #PlaneCrash #Autopilot #AndreasProdromou
Did you know that Helios 522 was a case of a “Ghost Plane”? The cabin didn’t pressurize, and all but one on board passed out from hypoxia. The plane circled in a holding pattern for hours driven by autopilot before flight attendant Andreas Prodromou took over the controls, crashing into a rural hillside. Let’s dive deeper into this fascinating yet tragic story.
##Understanding the Helios 522 Incident
The Helios Airways Flight 522 was a passenger flight that crashed on August 14, 2005, near Grammatikos, Greece. The plane was en route from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens, Greece, and then to Prague, Czech Republic. The incident shocked the world as the events leading up to the crash were unprecedented.
###What is a “Ghost Plane”?
A “Ghost Plane” refers to a scenario where there is no one conscious in the cockpit of the aircraft. In the case of Helios 522, the cabin lost pressurization, leading to hypoxia, a condition where the body is deprived of oxygen. As a result, the pilots and passengers lost consciousness, leaving the plane on autopilot.
###The Heroes of Helios 522
Flight attendant Andreas Prodromou played a crucial role in the Helios 522 incident. Despite suffering from hypoxia himself, Prodromou managed to regain partial consciousness and take over the controls of the aircraft. His actions helped steer the plane away from populated areas before crashing into a hillside.
##Causes of the Helios 522 Incident
The Helios 522 incident was a tragic combination of human error and mechanical failure. Let’s break down the factors that led to the crash:
###1. Pressurization Failure
The primary cause of the incident was the failure of the aircraft’s pressurization system. The crew had mistakenly set the cabin pressurization to manual mode, leading to a gradual loss of cabin pressure during the flight.
###2. Lack of Communication
The pilots failed to recognize the loss of cabin pressure promptly. Communication between the crew and ground control was also limited, which delayed the response to the emergency.
##Lessons Learned from Helios 522
The Helios 522 incident has led to significant improvements in aviation safety protocols. Here are some key takeaways from the tragedy:
###1. Enhanced Training
Airlines have since implemented better training programs for pilots and crew members to recognize and respond effectively to cabin pressure issues.
###2. Improved Communication
Emphasis has been placed on enhancing communication protocols between the cockpit and ground control during emergencies to ensure swift response and action.
##Conclusion
The Helios 522 incident remains a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining aircraft safety and vigilance at all times. Through continued learning and improvement, the aviation industry strives to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Let’s honor the memory of the passengers and crew of Helios 522 by learning from their experiences and making air travel safer for all.
In conclusion, the story of Helios 522 is a chilling reminder of the dangers that can arise in the aviation industry. By understanding the causes and lessons learned from this incident, we can work towards a safer future for air travel. Remember to prioritize safety and vigilance in all aspects of flight to prevent tragedies like Helios 522 from happening again.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_Airways_Flight_522
“Crash investigators concluded that Prodromou’s experience was insufficient for him to be able to gain control of the aircraft under the circumstances.[4]: 139 However, Prodromou succeeded in banking the plane away from Athens and towards a rural area as the engines flamed out, with his actions meaning that there were no ground casualties.”
respect
isnt this why the pilots have actual air masks with separate O2 tanks?
I’m going to need more than one benzo the next time my nervous-ass flies somewhere
I thought it was reported that Prodromou’s girlfriend who was also a Helios flight attendant helped him as well.
[gotta share the Admiral Cloudberg article for this one](https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/lost-souls-of-grammatiko-the-crash-of-helios-airways-flight-522-ccf333b407a)
Could someone in this situation repressurize the plane? What effect would 2 hours of hypoxia have had on everyone on board if he had managed to land it?
TLDR;
in the 737 the warning horn for a loss of cabin pressure it the same horn as the Takeoff Configuration Warning System (a system which will tell you if the flaps, brakes, engines, spoilers are not properly configured for takeoff).
Part of the pilots knowledge when it comes to flying the type is that if you hear the horn on the ground, it is a configuration warning, and cannot be cancelled without correcting the misconfiguration. If you hear it in flight, it means the cabin altitude has exceeded limits, and the horn CAN be cancelled. The pilots on this flight thought it was the takeoff configuration warning horn sounding, and cancelled the horn since it was actually the CABIN ALT horn, so they just kept flying along with no pressurization.
The tragic irony is that a simple case of misinterpretation led to such an extensive disaster. Prodromou’s efforts in the end, while heroic on their own, highlight a gaping hole in cockpit resource management and emergency situation training. Given the proper protocols and assuming the oxygen masks for the crew functioned as they should, this might’ve been an entirely different story. It’s chilling to think that despite being physically capable at the helm, the mental capacity to manage such a dire situation effectively is eroded so significantly by hypoxia. It underscores the importance of continuous training and protocol reinforcement in these high-risk occupations.
Half this thread “wow give the guy credit he saved lives on the ground”
The other half
“No! 😤”
The same thing happened to pro golfer Payne Stewart’s plane. It flew for 4 hours; 1,500 miles before it crashed.
Real Horror did a (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Rr6-HV3as), worth a watch
In December 2011, shortly after the end of the case in Cyprus, a new trial began in a Greek magistrate’s court, in which chief executive officer Demetris Pantazis, flight operations manager Giorgos Kikkides, former chief pilot Ianko Stoimenov, and chief engineer Alan Irwin were charged with manslaughter. All except Irwin had been previously charged and acquitted by the Cypriot authorities.[34] In April 2012, all were found guilty, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, and remained free on bail pending an appeal.[36]
By 2013, Alan Irwin was successful in his appeal.[28] All the other defendants lost their appeals.[28] Their sentence of 10 years was ordered to stand, but **the defendants were given the option to buy out their sentence for around €79,000 each.**[28]
what the fuck? even *America* doesn’t offer that shit
Mentour Pilot has a great video on this – [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pebpaM-Zua0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pebpaM-Zua0)
The title (I believe) unintentionally makes it sound like Andreas was the cause of the plane crashing, but in reality he had just taken the controls and was trying to execute a turn when the plane finally ran out of fuel. Whether or not he could’ve landed the plane aside, the crash was in no way his fault, and if left in the holding pattern may have crashed in a much more populated area or been shot down to prevent it doing so
Because no one did it already: Mentour pilot made a video about this. I really recommend this channel. Not only if you’re a flight enthusiast or a real pilot, but because his videos are very entertaining.
I read or heard about this a while ago and apparently when the Jet pilots sent to investigate the plane looked at the windows, they could see the silhouette of the passed out passengers inside. Idk why but the thought of that sight disturbs me.
I did ground school with the FO’s son. I always felt sorry for him when he had to sit through class and have to listen to the criticisms of his father’s mistake. He endlessly claimed that it was a system failure that led to it all and not the mode selector switch being left in manual.
In his desperate grasp to protect his dad’s name I think he’d forgotten the bigger picture. Regardless of the cause of the problem, the crew failed to act accordingly to maintain the safety of the aircraft. That’s what sealed their fate ultimately. No one had the heart to tell him that tho.
Poor guy
Title makes it sound like the flight attendant crashed it. He didn’t – the engines finally flamed out after fuel starvation. He made a valiant effort to turn the plane away from populated areas before it went down – he was a private pilot, but wasn’t type rated on this aircraft (don’t think multi or turbine either but I’m not sure). He did what he could and likely saved lives on the ground.
The flight attendant didn’t crash the plane. The plane was out of fuel at the time the flight attendant made it to the controls and the plane was headed for a mountain and the flight attendant didn’t have time to steer the plane away from the mountain.
This whole situation was the result of poor maintenance and pilots that didn’t check things properly