On August 14, 2005, Helios Airways
flight HCY 522, heading from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens
International Airport, crashed north of Athens, resulting
in the loss of all passengers and crew. Reports said the
pilots were unconscious when the plane went down, possibly
because of a lack of oxygen in the cabin due to decompression.
The Boeing Corporation
737, with 115 passengers and six crew members aboard, was
due to fly onto Prague, Czech Republic after stopping in
Athens. Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled shortly after
the plane entered Greek air space over the Aegean Sea and
did not respond to radio calls.
Lieff Global, in cooperation
with the Cyprus law firm Phoebus, Christos Clerides, N.
Pirilides & Associates,
of Nicosia and Limassol, on behalf of families of victims
of the crash of Helios Flight 522, filed a lawsuit on February
21, 2006 against The Boeing Company in United States District
Court in Chicago, Illinois.
The investigation of the crash of
the Helios Airways Flight 522 has reportedly found that
the pressurization system on the plane was not properly
configured by the pilots at the time the aircraft took
off from Larnaca, Cyprus. However, Robert L. Lieff, founding
partner of the American law firm Lieff Global, explained
that "while there appears to have been negligence
on the part of the Helios pilots, Boeing was also negligent
and shares responsibility for the passengers' deaths."
Christos Clerides, whose firm will
spearhead efforts to prosecute claims against Helios itself,
is working in partnership with Lieff Global in representing
the families in pursuing Boeing and any other U.S. manufacturers
who may have contributed to the accident. Mr. Clerides
stated, "I am very pleased to take this step forward
in achieving justice for my clients. We intend to make
sure that no responsible party escapes accountability for
this horrible tragedy."
Nigel Taylor, an attorney with
Lieff Global based in London and one of Europe’s
most experienced aviation attorneys, stated, "This
lawsuit holds out great hope for the victim families to
get fair compensation, and we have an outstanding team
in place to achieve that end."
Hans-Peter Graf, a former airline
commander and investigator in charge at the Swiss Aircraft
Accidents Investigation Bureau who specializes in flight
operation and human factors, has been retained by Lieff
Global to work on this case.
Mr. Graf commented, "The checklists
that Boeing composed and recommended for the 737 aircraft
made it easy for crews to take off and fly with the pressurization
system set incorrectly. The alerts and warnings given to
the crew were inexcusably vague and late. The design and
implementation of a superior system would have cost a minimal
amount. Thus, I am firmly convinced that Boeing and its
partners played a substantial role in this crash, and they
could have prevented it with a proper design of the crew
alerting system."
The complaint alleges that a series
of design defects in the Boeing 737-300 led to the pilots'
failure to understand the nature of the problems they were
facing. Foremost among these was that the pressurization
warning "horn" on
the Boeing 737-300 emits the same sound used to alert pilots
about improper takeoff and landing configurations.
The pilots' confusion was
compounded by the fact that the very danger being warned
of -- low cabin air pressure -- impairs cognitive
functions. "If you are warning about a dangerous
condition that impairs a pilot's ability to think,
it is common sense that you make that warning as clear
as possible, and Boeing did not do that," commented
Robert L. Lieff.
The complaint also alleges that
two years before the Helios accident, in 2003, Boeing communicated
to 737 operators that "flight crews may not recognize
the [aircraft pressurization failure] horn as an alert
of excessive cabin altitude."
Yet, commented
Robert L. Lieff, "Boeing took no corrective action
in response to this potential safety hazard other than
ask 737 operators to revise their manuals. Boeing could
have eliminated the confusion from multiple uses of the
same horn by using a vocal warning or a unique horn,
through an inexpensive modification to the 737 pressurization
warning system."
Contact Lieff Global
Families whose loved ones died
in this crash are welcome to contact Lieff Global to learn
more about their legal rights without any charge or obligation.
Please send us an e-mail
message.
Alternatively, you may telephone us at 1-415-788-8000 and
request to speak to attorney Lexi Hazam. Or please call
Lieff Global attorney Nigel
Taylor in the United Kingdom at +44 1732 742004.
The Legal Rights of Families Whose
Loved Ones Die in Airplane Disasters
We appreciate that this is a time
of deep pain and grieving for the spouses, children and
families of the passengers and crew who died in the Helios
Airways crash. In the coming weeks, you will, however,
have questions concerning how and why the crash occurred,
your legal rights, compensation that is available to you,
and the duties and legal responsibility of the airplane
operator and manufacturer. For answers to frequently asked
questions concerning aviation accidents, please click
here.
About Lieff Global, LLP
Lieff Global, LLP, is an AV-rated law firm with
offices in San Francisco and affiliate offices worldwide. Lieff Global
grew out of the rapid expansion of the international and aviation practices
at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, which Robert L. Lieff founded in 1972. Lieff Global represents survivors and families of victims who died in domestic and international aviation and maritime accidents, as well as foreign citizens in other types of actions.
Lieff Global is uniquely positioned to answer your questions and represent your interests. Our attorneys have over forty years of experience litigating airplane crash cases worldwide. We have relationships with the foremost experts in the fields of aviation safety and disaster analysis. Learn more...
Contact
Us
Families
whose loved ones died in the Helios Airways disaster
are welcome to contact
a lawyer at Lieff Global to learn
more about their legal rights. We welcome the opportunity
to answer your questions free of charge, without
obligation and in strict confidence.
