-by gasper crasto
An air crash of passenger air-crafts anywhere in the world makes news headlines.
The Cyprus air-crash on 14th August 2005 was covered by Kuwaiti newspapers on their front pages. I'd been saving highlighted press-cuttings of the crash for my personal references. Later, I trashed them all (on advice of a friend) for fear of being linked with conspiracy to the crash if caught in possession of the paraphernalia. Anyway...
Cyprus President described the crash as a "peculiar" accident. The crash was the worst airline disaster in Greek history.
Since the day of the crash and its aftermath, I'd scanned news with keen curiosity... in a hope to read something more on this mysterious crash. Perhaps it was my interest to know more about the strange way it crashed and for its cruelty in killing innocent children...as Czech Prime Minister said "80 of the passengers were Greek school children returning from a holiday in Cyprus."
All 121 people (115 passengers and 6 crew) aboard the Helios Airways twin-engine jet died after it smashed into a wooded hillside near Athens, Greece. The plane was about to land at Athens airport for a stopover on its journey from Lanarca in Cyprus to the Czech capital, Prague.
Soon after a crash, there are many unanswered questions as to what brought the plane down.
Aviation experts remained at a loss to explain the crash even days after the incident. There were various stories though... Some said, "the disaster could have been caused by a sudden failure in the pressurization or air-conditioning system."
"An act of piracy is likely." Said a spokesman for the Greek army. He said pilots of the two F16 fighters that were sent up to escort the airliner before the crash 'saw a situation that was not normal in the pilots' cabin.' The F16 pilots said "they could not see the pilot, the co-pilot was visible slumped in his seat unconscious, and two unknown people were in the cockpit apparently trying to fly the plane."
In Nicosia, a communications minister said "contact with the pilots and the control tower was suddenly cut as the airliner approached Athens."
Helios Airways said it was "unclear" what caused the crash.
A senior official however, speculated that "a sudden drop in cabin pressure could have caused the disaster." The official said "the pilot had mentioned a problem with the plane's air-conditioning system before losing contact."
But in Paris, an accident investigator said that "a sudden loss of pressurization would not have caused the plane to crash, nor would it have made the pilots immediately lose consciousness," and he said, "loss of pressurization would not have had any effect on the aircraft's structure.' He said, 'the pilots would also have had their own oxygen supply that would have enabled them to guide the plane to a landing."
Rumours spread among relatives of the passengers, included one about a text message that had been sent from one passenger before the crash, saying 'the pilot had died after complaining of frigid temperatures on board.'
In Cyprus, police raided the offices of Helios Airways and a search warrant was issued "to secure ... documents and other evidence which could be useful for the investigation into possible criminal acts."
Government spokesmen in Cyprus and Greece cautioned that the cause of crash was unlikely to be known until investigators examined the plane's flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder, "We're plumping for an accident, but cannot rule out other possibilities as long as the Black Boxes have not been analyzed."
At this point, my mind was set for more news on the Black Boxes. Following any air disaster, investigators turn for answers to the airplane's Black Boxes - the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) - perhaps the only devices that survive a crash.
After six days of search, the cockpit voice recorder was found. The other ''Black Box'', which records flight data was also located. BBC News reported soon, 'the plane's Black Box recorders have been recovered.' These would be flown on to Paris for decoding.
Since then, everyday, I was digging for news on the investigations hoping to know more on the findings of the Black Boxes. However, my efforts of press-cuttings / highlighting / underlining, search and research seemed to be have gone waste with no concrete news on the investigation whatsoever -- months and years after the crash.
A spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency said, "They have both recorders, so there will be an answer. They will get to the bottom of this."
News preceding any air crashes, I have been always interested to know about the contents of the Black Boxes. But to sheer disappointment, the furthest I have read / heard is that, "Black Boxes are located, and may contain clues as to how the crash happened."
There have been other crashes too in 2005 - Tunisair flight carrying 39 passengers and crew; West Caribbean Airways in Venezuela with 160 dead; death of 41 people in a crash at Peru, etc, but there was no news on the contents of their Black Boxes either.
Obviously, it shouldn't take this long for experts to get to the "bottom" of facts.
Of course, I did read that initial findings on data from the Cyprus air-crash Black Box recorders indicated someone had repeatedly tried to send an emergency signal. This news came amid growing pressure for the Greek Government to reveal all it knew about the accident. An investigator said, "a person wearing an oxygen mask was sitting in the pilot's seat for the final 10 minutes before the crash," adding that, "the tone of voice showed it was a man - either distressed or suffering from exhaustion."
This was the furthest I could get in my hunt. But is that all..? Earlier speculations that flight recorders may answer some puzzling questions still seem to be on hold, questions like, ‘Why did the pilot fail to signal Athens about a decompression problem?' ; 'Where was the missing pilot minutes before touchdown at Athens?'
Could anyone around the world shed light on this susbject:
How long does it take experts to decode the Black Box recorders..?
Why are the Black Boxes put into so much 'focus' after every crash if what they could reveal is irrelevant and not worth mentioning...
Aren't authorities demanding a 'detailed investigation into the crash', hot and worried to give an explanation to the public? Or do they just forget about a certain Black Box apparently a 'dead remnant of the crash' - just like people tend to forget a lost match box...
Perhaps the NEWS I was looking for was already in the news... and Kuwait or I could have missed... or only I could have alone... If not, should I hold on till I eventually see some news sprouting...
...Anyway, in my personal probe, I've learnt one thing: Although they are called 'Black Boxes,’ the strange units are actually painted bright orange.