[Kore]

A Cypriot passenger plane carrying at least 121 people has crashed near Athens moments after losing radio contact with air traffic control.
Greek F-16 fighter jets scrambled to locate the plane reported seeing one pilot slumped in his seat, but could not see the plane's second pilot.

The Helios Airways plane, travelling from Larnaca, Cyprus, crashed in hills just north of the Greek capital.

A rescue helicopter dispatched to the site has not reported any survivors.

The head of air traffic control at Athens airport, Iannis Pantazaratos, told AFP they had no idea who was flying the plane.

"The airport lost all contact with the plane which should have landed in the late morning, and two air force planes sent up in reconnaissance found it flying above the Euboea peninsula, but they saw the pilots doubled up in the cabin," he said.

Rescue effort

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis cut short a holiday on the island of Tinos to return to Athens.

Police and military helicopters were sent to the scene, with dozens of ambulances also reportedly on their way.

One eyewitness, Dimitris Karezas, told the Reuters news agency he saw the plane being followed by fighter jets.

"Two, three minutes later I heard a big bang and ever since I've started looking for it, but I have not found anything yet," he said.

Helios Airways was founded in 1999 as Cyprus' first independent airline.

It operates a fleet of Boeing 737 jets between Cyprus and London, Athens, Sofia, Dublin and Strasbourg in France.

HELIOS AIRWAYS

• 1999: Established as first independent airline in Cyprus
• 2000: First chartered flight
• 2001: First scheduled flight
• Flies to UK, Strasbourg, Sofia, Athens, Dublin, Warsaw and Prague
• Operates four Boeing 737 planes

Article From BBC


hmm, so the 2 pilots in the cockpit suffocated and the passengers didnt. thats impossible. the f-16 pilots saw the pilot slumped and the other one out of his seat while looking in before it crashed. wonder what the full story is....

[*PlayGirl*]

Oh god.. what is the world coming to?

[Kore]

looks like it was just a problem with the pressure or oxygen system....

hmmm....

[sesamestreetz]

This is awful

[ThaGazBoi]

Oh dear, This is awful indeed

[Kore]

yepe, i hate it when things like this happen

[Dan_]

Hope everyone will be okay.

[Siouxsie]

no survivors is there

[Dan_]

All 121 people on board a Cypriot airliner are feared dead after it plunged into a hill near Athens after an apparent drop in cabin pressure.

A text message sent from the plane said that the pilots were unconscious and passengers were freezing to death.

Greek F-16 fighter jets were scrambled when contact with the Helios Airways plane was lost during the flight between Larnaca in Cyprus and Athens.

Rescuers have found dead bodies but are yet to locate any survivors.

Relatives of some of the passengers gathered anxiously at Larnaca airport, and complained they had waited for hours without being told of their loved ones' fates.

"Tell us if our relatives are dead," some begged Helios officials. "Give us the names, we have waited too long."

But there was no confirmation of the identity or nationality of those on board.

"My son is a pilot and he flew to Athens today. I don't know what plane he was on," a distraught mother said.

However, a Greek police spokeswoman said there were no reports of survivors.

The Boeing 737 plane, carrying 115 passengers and six crew, came down at 1220 local time (0920 GMT).

Credit-http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4150312.stm