Greek investigator says enough information on air crash cause

Head of the Greek Investigating Commission on Air Accidents, Akrivos Tsolakis, said today that the commission is leaving Cyprus today with enough information regarding the cause of the crash of an Helios Airways Boeing 737 last month that killed all 121 people on board, most of them Cypriots.

Speaking after meeting Communications and Works Minister Haris Thrasou, Tsolakis said the Commission will examine all information it has collected in Cyprus and in Athens, and the information it will obtain this week in the UK and if there is anything that needs clarification, the Commission will return to Cyprus, even if only for a few hours.

He also said the Commission is returning to Athens tonight and tomorrow it will convene to coordinate the next steps.

Tsolakis also announced that he will be heading to London in middle of the week while a re-enactment of the flight of August 14 that crashed near Athens will take place 15 days later.

Asked whether the information which the Commission obtained in Cyprus point towards the direction of the information it had collected in Athens, Tsolakis said the “directions are many, they have not changed, they simply lead us to the path which we will finally take”.

Tsolakis also responded positively to a question on whether the Commission has decided which direction it will take.

He also said the two Helios British engineers have consented to giving statements to the Commission.

Meanwhile Communications Minister Thrasou said he believed that very soon the cause of the accident will become clear.

He told reporters after meeting Tsolakis that every time he meets the Greek head of the Commission he is more certain that the cause of the accident will be found and added that with the statements that will be taken in London “pretty soon the whole setting will become clear so that we can answer the questions of the public opinion” on the issue.

Thrasou also said he was certain that there is no suspicion against any Cypriot Air Traffic controller.