A Boeing 737 Flew Itself for 2 Hours While Everyone on Board Was Unconscious, Only One Person Was Still Awake and Couldn't Land It
Indian Defence Review • • world
Key Points:
- The 2005 crash of Helios Airways Flight 522 was caused by a failure to reset the cabin pressurization system from “manual” to “auto” after ground maintenance, leading to hypoxia and incapacitation of crew and passengers.
- The pilots misinterpreted the cabin altitude warning as a takeoff configuration alert, resulting in no corrective action and the aircraft flying on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed near Athens, killing all 121 onboard.
- Flight attendant Andreas Prodromou remained conscious due to a portable oxygen supply and attempted to assist, but was unable to prevent the crash.
- The disaster led to lawsuits, the shutdown of Helios Airways, and regulatory changes including new cockpit warning lights on Boeing 737s and enhanced pilot training on hypoxia and pressurization protocols.
- These safety reforms, born from tragedy, now contribute to the improved security of commercial air travel worldwide.
