Plane with 121 on board crashes
2005-08-14 11:26
Athens - A Cypriot airliner with 121 people on board from Larnaca, Cyprus, crashed Sunday on a mountain on the Euboea peninsula, northeast of Athens, a traffic controller at Athens international airport told AFP.
Just before the crash, an airport official said the plane appeared to be flying pilotless.
"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," Iannis Pantazaratos said.
"We do not know how the plane is flying. It is being escorted by the military planes and the airport is in a state of emergency," said Pantazaratos, traffic control chief at Athens airport.
The Helios airlines plane was reported to be carrying 115 passengers and six crew.
- SAPA