Cypriot plane may have run out of fuel: source

AFP ^ | 16 Aug 2005 | AFP

[tall_tex]

...copilot's body was recovered in the same area, though not that of the German Pilot...

Very interesting..

[Bigh4u2]

"Alive and conscious are not the same thing."

You're right.

Just ask any Democrat!

:0)

[InsureAmerica]

""If it ran out of fuel before it crashed, then why would have any of the bodies be 'charred beyond recognition',as was reported yesterday? ""

Freezer-burn.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Here's evidence of a fire at the crash site...

Video grab shows a water tanker flying past the crash site of a Cypriot airliner, north of Athens, August 14, 2005. The airliner carrying 121 people crashed north of Athens on Sunday after losing contact with air traffic control minutes.

Video grab shows a fire caused by the crash of a Cypriot airliner, north of Athens, August 14, 2005. The airliner carrying 121 people crashed north of Athens on Sunday after losing contact with air traffic control minutes before it went down. A Greek police spokeswoman said there were no immediate reports of survivors. Two Greek F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the Helios Airways jet, en route from Larnaca in Cyprus to Prague via Athens, lost contact with the control tower at Athens international airport. GREECE OUT REUTERS/Antenna TV via Reuters TV

[freeperfromnj]

It was originally reported that they were frozen and blue. So much erroneous information out there.

[InsureAmerica]

I think the frozen-solid theory was started by the guy who reported that he was instant-messaged by someone who wrote that they were freezing. This guy was arrested after he admitted he lied about this..

[Moose4]

"Out of fuel" doesn't mean bone-dry. There's still probably several hundred pounds of kerosene, maybe more, onboard the plane (much like your car tank will still have a little gas in it even after the engine quits). Or, maybe they had the engines drawing off one tank and it ran out but there was fuel in the others, and nobody to switch to them. I think a 737-300 has three tanks, one in each wing and one in the fuselage, but I don't know if the pilots have to manually switch back and forth or if it automatically draws until all three tanks are empty.

}:-)4

[YankeeGirl]

I read a creepy book (John Nance? Michael Crighten??) about a commercial airliner that was hit clear through by a rogue drone missle or some such thing. There was sudden decompression at high altitude and though the pilots got the plane in a sudden dive (avoiding freezing) nearly all aboard suffered massive brain damage from oxygen deprivation. The few healthy survivors were in small, confined areas (lavs, galleys, etc) and tried to land a jet full of zombies who were marginally conscious and severely mentally impaired.

Good story, but creepy. Wonder if it happened like that on board that unfortunate jet.

[Bigh4u2]

That would be a great explanation, if it had been reported that way.

But they did say 'OUT OF FUEL'.

Besides. Why wouldn't the plane burn the 'several hundred pounds of kerosene'?

My gas tank on my car goes right to empty when I run out.

Maybe a few 'ounces' left, but not 'pounds'.

[Fitzcarraldo]

There was no mention of any exterior damage while it was still flying...

[thinking]

Out of fuel, out of oxygen, heat failed, people froze to death....round-up the usual cover-ups....like I wrote a couple days ago.....it was shot down

[COEXERJ145]

Out of fuel, out of oxygen, heat failed, people froze to death....round-up the usual cover-ups....like I wrote a couple days ago.....it was shot down

Take off the tin foil once and a while.

[InsureAmerica]

I just heard peter jennings was flying it

[Yo-Yo]

FAA regulations say a flight crewmember must wear a mask only when the other crewmember leaves the flight deck.

Sec. 121.333 - Supplemental oxygen for emergency descent and for first aid; turbine engine powered airplanes with pressurized cabins.

SNIP... (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (c)(2) of this section, if for any reason at any time it is necessary for one pilot to leave his station at the controls of the airplane when operating at flight altitudes above flight level 250, the remaining pilot at the controls shall put on and use his oxygen mask until the other pilot has returned to his duty station.

[jwpjr]

re: ICAO regulations require at least one member of aircrew to be on oxygen at all times when the aircraft is above a specified altitude (like 14,000 feet), in case of decompression.

The requirement is that when a member of the flight crew leaves the cockpit that the remaining pilot don the oxygen.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Did the plane go into a dive at any time prior to "running out of fuel"? My first reaction would have been to put it into a steep dive at the first sign of trouble with the cabin air.

[COEXERJ145]

FAA regulations...

Do not apply to foreign carries that are operating outside of the United States.

[YankeeGirl]

I was speculating more on the effects of high altitude decompression, not the cause. Sounds like the decompression or loss of oxygen could have been caused by some faulty mechanical device, not external damage. Maybe there was no loss of pressure, but only oxygen deprivation?? There were reports of failure of the a/c systems shortly after take-off.

Brain damage starts very quickly. Any reports of the cruising altitude prior to the crash? Low enough to start reviving unconscious victims??

[johnny7]

Greece is one step above third-world news-trustworthiness.

[Fitzcarraldo]

UPDATE...

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-14/1124190680305800.xml&storylist=international

Co-pilot said alive before Greece crash

8/16/2005, 7:40 a.m. PT

By PATRICK QUINN

The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The co-pilot and a flight attendant were among dozens of people still alive when a Cypriot airliner plunged into the mountains north of Athens, the coroner said Tuesday, deepening the mystery over what incapacitated the flight carrying 121 people.

Fillipos Koutsaftis told The Associated Press that co-pilot Pambos Haralambous was alive when the Helios Airways jet crashed Sunday near Grammatiko, 25 miles north of Athens, killing everyone on board.

The pilots of two Greek F-16 fighter jets that intercepted the plane after it lost contact with Greek air traffic controllers reported seeing Haralambous slumped over the controls in the cockpit, apparently unconscious, shortly before the crash.