Helios Airways Flight 522, known as the “ghost plane,” tragically crashed on August 14, 2005, killing all 121 people on board after flying on autopilot with the passengers and crew unconscious. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-300, was en route from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Prague, when a series of fatal errors, beginning with a misconfigured pressurization system, led to the cabin depressurizing at 35,000 feet. The crew mistook warning signs for a different issue and failed to realize the oxygen levels were dropping. As a result, everyone on board lost consciousness due to hypoxia.
Fighter jets were scrambled when air traffic control couldn’t contact the plane for over an hour. Upon inspection, they saw the first officer slumped in his seat and the passengers unconscious, with oxygen masks dangling. Only a flight attendant, Andreas Prodromou, remained conscious, attempting to take control using a portable oxygen tank. Unfortunately, he was unable to save the plane, and it crashed into a hillside near Athens after both engines failed.
The tragedy was the result of a switch being left in “manual” mode after maintenance, causing the cabin to depressurize unnoticed. Investigations revealed that both the airline and Boeing were found liable for the incident, leading to multiple lawsuits and the eventual shutdown of Helios Airways in 2006. Despite the crew’s experience, a combination of human error and mechanical oversight led to one of the most chilling aviation disasters in European history.
