NICOSIA - The Helios court case opened Friday in the Nicosia criminal court with evidence, including parts of the aircraft recently brought from Greece, being presented.
The evidence was presented to the court by the head of the investigation team Senior Inspector Themis Arnaoutis, who was the first witness for the prosecution.
The mechanical parts included part of the ventilation system of the aircraft and oxygen masks from the flight deck.
Arnaoutis explained that on one of the masks the DNA of co-pilot Pambs Charalambos was found.
Realtives of those who died in the disaster gathered outside the court holding photographs of their loved ones.
The defendants, Helios executive chairman Andreas Drakos, managing director Demetris Pantazis, flight operations manager George Kikkides and chief pilot Ianko Stoimenov are charged in connection to the manslaughter of 119 passengers killed in the August 2005 air crash inGreece. All three have pleaded not guilty. The airline company, which has since ceased operating, is also facing the same charges. The filing of evidence is set to begin today before the prosecution begins to call witnesses in front of the three-judge panel. The prosecution argues that they caused the death of the 119 people on board – not including the two pilots – by means of a dangerous and negligent act. Helios Airways Flight 522 flew unpiloted for almost three hours before running out of fuel and plummeting into a mountain just north of Greece four years ago. The investigative report stated that the cause of the crash was due to loss of cabin pressure which caused the pilots and most of the passengers and crew members to lose consciousness. The Helios air crash is the worst aviation disaster in Greek and Cypriot history.
The case was adjourned until December 1.