Greek Prosecutor Files Homicide Charges over 2005 Helios Air Crash

A public prosecutor filed homicide charges Tuesday over the Helios Airways crash that killed all 121 passengers and crew near Athens last year, judicial authorities said.

No one was named in the criminal indictment which was issued by Athens prosecutor Eleni Rayiou and is part of an ongoing investigation into the deadliest air disaster in the history of Cyprus and Greece.

But the move could lead to prosecution at a later date, if the judicial investigation eventually names people considered responsible for the crash.

Greek accident investigators have cited human error as the main cause of the crash.

In a report issued Oct. 10, they said the two pilots of the Cypriot 737-300 failed to competently operate controls regulating cabin pressure and misinterpreted a subsequent warning sign.

Maintenance officials were also blamed for leaving pressure controls on an incorrect setting, while Boeing was cited for "ineffectiveness of measures" in response to previous pressurization incidents on its aircraft.

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