Explosive Depressurization Still Named the Key Reason
On August 15, Greece and Cyprus declared a morning in memory of all those perished in the crash of Cypriot Helios airliner. The plane fell near Athens with 121 people frozen solid on board because of depressurization, the experts say.
Explosive depressurization of Boeing 737 is still viewed the key cause of the crash. This opinion is shared by aircraft experts in Russia. “Pilots’ actions in similar situations are perfected while training. It is extraordinary descending,” said Viktor Alexandrov, honored test pilot and an official of Gromov Aviation Institute. “But such cases are few and far between and expected by no one. In addition, the pilots’ efficiency may differ 20 to 30 times depending on their skill.” According to Alexandrov, if depressurization had happened at the height of above 10,000km, all those aboard would have fainted during three minutes. “With pilots able to descent to, let’s say, five thousand, the people would have come to,” Alexandrov went on. “As to the plane, it can fly automatically with no man involved till the fuel runs out completely.” “The Greek fighters were to approach close enought to see what was actually happening in the cockpit,” Alexandrov emphasized. “Absence of one of the pilots means nothing. He could have wandered somewhere. It is acceptable at the routes of such length.”
The accident occurred to Boeing 737 is the rarest case in the history of civil airline, said Boris Rybak, president of Infomost consulting company. “Explosive depressurization had hardly resulted from the failure of air conditioning,” Rybak pointed out. “Two or three similar cases happened in the past 20 years. The last one was the crash of U.S. DC-10, where ram air tore off a piece of the plane’s skin.” When speaking about possible reasons of the crash, Rybak said explosion might have happened. “Besides, civil airlines are sometimes shot down,” he reminded.
In Russian office of Boeing, they declined to comment at least until the end of the probe. “It is the policy of the company,” press officer Viktor Anoshkin told Kommersant.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 16, 2005
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