Given the subject matter of your channel I can’t actually say I enjoy watching Mayday episodes, but I do find these accounts (of something I hope I never experience) fascinating, informative & well produced.
The fighter pilot seeing all those people just slumped over, asleep, still breathing, totally alive, and realizing that he's about to witness a jetliner with all those lives onboard collide into the earth, and just disintegrating. My God, just seeing that whole catastrophe unfold before your eyes! Thinking about it is really freaking me out.
The silver lining was the fact that all the passengers were unconscious, and it would've been peaceful going to sleep. That kind of slow hypoxia generally does not cause you to feel like you are suffocating, you go pretty easily. They just slipped into a coma and were unaware what was happening.
I do not want to go peacefully into the night. I want a chance to say I love you to the people near me. I want a chance to make peace with my maker. I hate it when people tell me things are going to be alright before I die. I have a right to panic. I have a right to feel before I die. This is the worst death. The worst! You die while you're still alive!!!
Was far better this way. Than to be fully aware your of the life is going to end in just a few moments. Knowing your going to die. Strapted to a chair in the falling to your death. The horror of it.
TheCheeryElement I mean, I'm not a doctor so don't take this with 100% accuracy in case I'm wrong, but no. With the time they were unconscious, even though they may have been still alive possibly, brain damage would have set in and it would be impossible for awareness to come back once total brain death happens. That is why when the flight attendant trying to fly the plane put the oxygen on the copilot and nothing happened, its likely by then his brain was totally irreversibly damaged.
Andreas did all he could, considering how he was diminished, and just ran out of time. Very sad to hear his father talk about how he may never get over his son's tragic death.
There are some deaths whose wounds heal at a snail’s pace and whose scars never fade completely away... I have such a scar from when I lost the first cat who was mine (got him when I was 4 in 1998, he passed suddenly in 2008 at the foot of my bed... I was 14) and the wound has only just closed... I can empathize with the father saying that the loss of his son is something he might never get over...
He should have just taken over the controls and landed the silly plane instead of playing nursemaid with the oxygen tanks, he had a pilots license for Christ’s sake! Land the plane, THEN help those in need!
@@emeraldqueen1994 I know what your saying, there is no pain as sharp as losing your cat. I’ve lost my brother, then my mother, but let me tell you, those deaths were nothing compared to when my 21 year old cat died, I wanted to die myself!
This was very bad but the scariest episode has got to be the 2 flights ✈️that collided in mid air and all the gifted kids who passed on. That was a truly sad episode 😥
I've watched a lot of Mayday episodes, but this one, namely the end, hit me harder than the others. The father grieving his son, the photos of the two headstones side by side, and the pictures on the hillside. I found myself crying even more when they zoomed in on the photo of the little family. Rest in peace to everyone who perished on Helios Airways Flight 522. Thank you, Andreas, for being so fearless.
I first saw this episode when it came out and at the end part, as you mentioned, my wife began sobbing. I asked her what's wrong and she replied "these are my people." We're Greek. Your comment is very kind and thoughtful Kate. Bless you for that.
@@RBK855 Exactly. You cannot cut corners when you are operating complex machines like these. But over time, people just check boxes and glance over checklists that they have done hundreds of times before without even thinking about it. The crew had just flown the plane less than 10 hours ago and were probably unaware that the manual pressure check had been preformed.
@@RBK855 I don't know. I kind of feel an aircraft can be designed that doesn't need this kind of diligence to function. Imagine if cars worked this way. There's just too many flaws in the design of planes, and partially this is due to them being extremely old designs that don't get updated because of the cost to train crew. Which is absurd. Games and Software get updated constantly for a reason. But planes have to be stuck in a timewarp.
I think Andreas took control knowing while he couldn’t save the people onboard, he could at least prevent the plane from killing untold numbers by diverting it away from populated areas.
Although I don't disagree with you, the flight pattern of the plane was controlled by the left engine running out of fuel and not that of someone steering. While I'm sure he wanted to make sure no one else would be hurt or killed, his body was almost certainly in such distress that he would have no hope of making any meaningful decisions.
I swear it's always heros that perish I recently watched a video about an ice bridge collapsing at Niagra falls 17 year old boy was about to make his leap to safety when he heard calls for help behind him he abandoned his safe exit to go back & attempt to help save a couple unfortunately all 3 didn't survive but bless that boy that turned back so heartbreaking
I’m wondering if Andreas left the cockpit the first time to say goodbye to his girlfriend. What a tragedy, his poor father. May he and everyone on the flight RIP.
Except for the one person who basically ditched the plane in an area that wouldn’t harm any other people that’s why he nose dived it. So he was totally aware of what was happening. Yeah the other passengers weren’t but he was. It’s sad tragic.
This is truly heartbreaking 💔. How alone he must have felt being the only one conscious. He tried everything he could to not only save himself and the passengers but the woman he loved. My heart goes out to all of those families that lost someone on that plane.
he didnt try hard enough. someone on that flight had to have a phone. if he was conscious for that long and then after the plane went into a holding pattern , he could have radio for help. now, would that have made any difference, i doubt it but at least, he would have had help using the auto pilot and ground to try land the plane. now, they were in a holding pattern for a pretty long time, so why did it take them that long to scramble a jet to check out whats going on with a plane that is not responding from the time it entered its airspace and needing identification confirmation...
B Jvu You weren’t and will never ever be exactly in his shoes. He was holding on by a thread and you wanted him to do all that and judged him when no matter what happened death was going to be their fate.
This is the episode that had gotten me into watching air crash investigations. It amazes me how they can figure out what happened even if the plane is destroyed.
which one of the several crash that youve watched on here is exciting and not sad? is it the one where the plane plunge to earth at 500 miles per hour with everyone conscious of whats happening or the ones that does get to land then people burn to death when it cant stop?
@@matthewalston1226 well, checking that switch IS part of preflight checklists, so the pilots are also at fault, but still i wonder how guilty the engineer must have felt, i dont remember if it was mentioned in the show, but the engineer talking to them who asked "Can you confirm that the pressurization panel is set to auto?" was the engineer who had set it to manual to check it he must have realized in that moment he never set it back to auto, lotta guilt he must have felt
@@POKEMANZZ3 He most definitely would have known, especially since he was on the radio to them and would have remembered he was in the cockpit just a few hours earlier. No, the episode didn't mention anything further about the blame of the maintenance engineer. I'm sure it would have all been covered up to save face and any blame on him. The airline industry is like that - plus Greek culture would be even more so.
"His dream is to be a pilot for Helios." Well before the plane crashed, he got his wish in his last few minutes. At least his wish came true and he tried saving 120 lives out of it too. We will never forget this heroic act.
Thank you for finally allowing your content somewhere other than cable. I have been looking to buy all the seasons for years but it hasn't been available. Hopefully you will release more episodes here or at least make it available for purchase.
Shocking that there isn't a clear cut warning that the plane is not pressurized. What's also shocking is that passenger masks fall automatically, yet pilots may have no clue that one is even needed. I'm also surprised that none of the flight attendants reached out to the cockpit right away to see what's going on.
I’m really shocked the pilot trained flight attendant couldn’t tell that the aircraft was on autopilot and tried to set it to 10k feet so the oxygen levels were sufficient and may have brought the crew back. He may have not been trained on a 737 and probably couldn’t have found the cabin altitude selector switch, but autopilots on all aircraft share some similarities and I’m sure he could’ve figured that out.
@@Ian-pe9rj Yeah, it's surprising he didn't manage to figure out a fix. Other options included, figuring out how to turn on communications so the ground could just tell him what to do or manually flying the plane to a lower altitude.
@@FishDawg He was already hypoxic, if no portable oxygen tank was stored at the back of the cabin where he was seated, the effects would've set in as he made his way to the front. Hypoxia is devastating, it causes a rapid decline in functionality. Useful consciousness is about 30 seconds, identifying the signs of hypoxia in that time, is rarely possible. Had he been seated at the front, as any flight attendant with a commercial pilots license should be, he'd have noticed the immediate failure to descend and entered the cabin prior to the hypoxia setting in. He'd then have been able to secure masks to the flight crew, perhaps set the autopilot or just passed out. Either way, him sitting at the front would've saved the plane.
It seems like the cabin pressurization switch would have been on one of the pre-flight checklists that the flight crew is supposed to perform. But I've also seen, in watching these crash investigations, that the checklists are sometimes treated as a matter of formality rather than actually verifying what they're supposed to. We get complacent when repeating the same things over and over again. This was an easily avoidable tragedy. What's scary is just how easy it can be to have one.
The impatience of the pilot was a factor, too, by the sounds of it. If he hadn't interrupted the copilot as he was doing his preflight check, that switch might have been noticed.
@@jb6712 and if the Captain had actually listened to the Engineer on the ground who asked about the air pressure system. Captain ignores that and asks about something else.
I respect the investigators for trying to make sure what happened was as accurate as possible.
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However, I must've missed the part when they explained how this will now be prevented in the future. Also no mention of any layoffs regarding the mechanics who forgot the switch.
Crazy how he was still conscious, I can’t imagine how terrifying it would’ve been, seeing all the crewmates and passengers passed out like that. He was the all alone, he had the fear as he knew he was going to die, the others were passed out, at least they didn’t fear for their lives, realizing their fate at the very end..
I believe the Helios was a 737-300 and all my experience is in the 600/700/800 series but the overhead panel is pretty identical, there is a light on the overhead panel that is labeled “pass oxy on”. These types of accidents are very hard to read about when you fly the plane yourself. This accident was very avoidable. Systems knowledge should have told these pilots what the problem was. I am not sure what helios’s cockpit checks are but one of them usually is to verify the pressurization control panel and that is to make sure the control is in Auto mode, not Manual like it was. I can not stress enough how important training is in your career and unfortunately some countries run shy on training. Not saying Helios is one of them since I can comment on it directly because I have never seen their training program.
Yes... a lack of communication between cockpit and passengers/crew also contributed to the problem.. that door sealing off the pilots from the passengers is not always a good thing..
@@patrickmollohan3082 I remember watching it too. I couldn't understand why or how that could have happened. This video explains it in great detail. Rip to all and both planes.
@@patrickmollohan3082 I saw the Mayday episode on Payne Stewart’s crash. While the NTSB never did find the cause of the pressurization problem, they did find a flaw with Sunjet Aviation’s checklists. Their checklist instructed the pilots to troubleshoot the pressurization problem before donning oxygen masks. After finding that out, the FAA mandated that if a pressurization problem occurs, all checklists must have the donning of oxygen masks as the first item on the list.
Well, he did not entirely fail. He did manage to ensure that the plane did not crash into the city, where more people would be hurt, regardless of whether or not the plane may have crashed there.
No offense, Andreas didn't do anything but say a few words over the radio. He didn't have enough fuel or oxygen to do anything. He never flown that plane.
He did NOT fail. He did not have enough information. Had he known what was going on sooner, then 4 O2 bottles would have allowed plenty of time for him to descend to at least 10,000 ft, a safe altitude, and from there no doubt been able to land the aircraft safely.
This crash account was especially poignant, to know how long and valiantly the young man struggled to save a doomed plane. I know he and all of the victims are at peace in Heaven now, but what terrible sorrow remains at the loss of precious life.
Incredible how seemingly little it takes to set off a catastrophic chain of events when you isolate them on there own. It really goes to prove why the small details that we often find annoying as passengers are so crucial and important in the event things go sideways. I don’t normally find myself flying but this series has certainly given me pause enough that I would never even consider whining or complaining over the precautions that they must take to ensure the safety of everyone. God bless all of these brave folks both past and present.
We really should have a system that if the oxygen or pressure changes to require oxygen and the pilot doesn't input a descent, then the auto pilot initiates a descent to a breathing level and holds there. It'd give them at least a chance to do something
That can't be done. Air traffic control has planes all flying at different altitudes to avoid mid-air collisions. A plane automatically descending without warning could cause 2 planes to collide, making the situation worse.
@@gatorhunter1 so it's impossible for an onboard system to send an automated beacon to at in an emergency. Instead it's safer for a ghost plane to auto pilot to a populated area near an airport with no communication till it falls out of the sky? Since we already have machines that send out emergency signals if something happens, it seems very possible
When you do maintenance you’re literally supposed to have the book open in front of you. When people mistakenly believe they don’t have to follow the checklists, this is what happens. Complacency kills.
I think the guy didn't have his mind on the task at hand. Now to live the rest of his life, knowing this day in and day out. Night after night. Wasn't Paying Attention To DETAIL. That killed everyone on board. Truly TRULY SAD )-;
My theory for why it took so long for Andreas to enter the cockpit: He was probably trying to help his girlfriend. They said that 3 of the 4 oxygen bottles had been completely used up. He may have been trying to share the oxygen with her. She might have been semi-conscious and he was trying to keep her alive or maybe she was completely unconscious and he didn’t want to leave her. He was probably also suffering from hypoxia and maybe didn’t even realize how much time was passing. Maybe he thought they were going to crash soon anyway and it was better to just stay with his beloved. The appearance of the fighter jets might have given him some motivation to try and land the plane himself, which is why he entered the cockpit around the time they showed up.
I once read how military pilots are given a training exercise consisting of going inside a depressurization chamber and being given a complicated task to perform. They'd find out first-hand how quickly and thoroughly they become impaired by low air pressures. I'm surprised that the flight attendant didn't know how to use the radio.
That baffled me too. Come on, on 9/11 passengers were able to call 911 or relatives. Same with the flight attendants, they called 911. So don't know what type of plane this was, not being able to use a phone and call for help for 3 hours? Maybe back in day you couldn't?
they mention at the end of the video that the radio was still tuned to the airport in Cyprus and he probably didn't have the brain function at that point to realize it wasn't going to be heard by Athens
Lol! Man, peoples definition of HERO is weak. Name one thing in this episode that Andreas did, that wasn't for his own benefit???? A HERO isn't someone who simply tries to save themself. A HERO isn't someone who tries to revive the co-pilot to use as a tool to land the plane TO SAVE HIMSELF. A HERO isn't someone who tries to save themself & just happens to save others because they are a byproduct of saving oneself.
This accident always fascinated me due to how eerie it was. I can see why Andreas would have gotten up to investigate given they were in a decompression emergency but the plane was still climbing. Looking at the reports, it took ~10 minutes from the first alarm to reach their cruising altitude of 34,000 feet where they stayed till flame out. At this point, useful consciousness is 60 seconds at best and probably closer to thirty. Even using the passenger masks on his way up he would have been affected. And given their extreme altitude for several hours, it's possible he also developed other complications to this type of exposure. I do wonder if things would have been different if it had been him seated in the front - close to the portable oxygen and the cockpit. Although much is made of the switch, more recent coverage has shown that it was turned way past the manual setting and that it was extensively damaged at impact - meaning we can't actually be sure of the original setting despite original investigators being insistent we could. It also turns out that this model from Boeing had previous issues with pressurization and confusing warning lights in general. The accident craft itself had a history of a loss of pressure, loud noises, and extremely cold air - all originating from the back of the aircraft. I kind of want to say that these things were not just coincidences, that this plane had something seriously wrong with it that was not found out in time. What we got was the easiest answer - it just may not have been the right one. I can't imagine the nightmare Andreas went through, especially if he gave one of the pilots O2 only to discover he was too late. To be on a plane you can't fly, you're sick, you're loved one is barely there with you, and everyone else is essentially already dead...what do you do? I wonder if he came to a decision at some point to simply wait till flameout and ensure they went down in a clear area. The fact that he was a licensed pilot but it never occurred to him to change the radio frequency speaks volumes to just what kind of condition he was in.
As a pilot, I hear stories like these and it makes me stop and reflect. I learn from these stories and as unfortunate as it is, I think of myself as a better pilot as a result of these horrible tragedies. May the passengers and crew of flight 522 Rest In Peace.
Oh thank god, its the actual ghost plane story and not the viral hoax about the flight that went missing for like 50 years or whatever, came back, and then disappeared again. Any time I hear "ghost flight" i just think of that story and cringe unless its April 1st upload.
Eastern Airlines flight 401 - an L-1011 that crashed in the Everglades in early 1970s is what I think of when I hear the term “ghost flight”. Survivors and coworkers of the captain that died claimed to see him for years on flights afterwards. A TV movie was made about it, “The Ghost of Flight 401.” God bless Andres. May the souls of all he tried to save rest In peace, and their loved ones find comfort in precious memories 🙏.
It’s a damn shame he didn’t have enough O2 to think clearly. If he had he would have realized his first priority would be to get to a safe altitude. Set the autopilot to 10,000 feet and within minutes he’s out of danger. But with hypoxia you just can’t think straight.
I thinks hes talking about the first time he went into the cabin, had he of realized, he could of gotten it to a safe level, switch radio channles and called immediate emergency landing
That easy? 😮 If I’m ever in a scenario like this, I will do this. Seems so simple. Not a pilot or nothing but considering the amount of travel I do and planes I take between countries, maybe this advice will be useful one day.
Just imagine if they'd put as much ingenuity and attention to detail into the damn warning lights, as they did to solve the crash, the crash never would have happened.
After binge watching these documentaries, I can unequivocally say it's truly a miracle that most flights safely transport people all over the world. If I ever fly again, I will not take it for granted. IF.
The last decade was the lowest fatalities since 1950s I believe & less than half of the fatalities of 1970s. Current fatality odds are 1 in 11 million for a commercial flight crash vs 1 in 5,000 for a car crash. So you are around 2,000 times more likely to die in a car crash. So do you ever use a car, because that's waaaayyyyyyy more dangerous?
While it is true you are usually the one driving. So something about that seems to make you feel safer I think. And even tho they are much rarer when a plane crashes it's usually hundreds of people dying at once. Which seems a lot scarier as well. I'm no psychologist or anything. Just my opinion
People even comparing flying even a simple trainer aircraft to driving a car are missing the plot entirely. You can't just jump in a widebody jet, turn a key, and peel out of the airport and head to Walmart in it. There's next to zero actual skill or learning curve or information retention and procedural choreographic flow or possibility of killing 500 people involved with driving a Toyota Camry.
Andreas was a true hero and deserved nothing less than an hero’s honor. As his father was speaking I could feel him pain. RIP for everyone who was on the flight.
Andreas was in an impossible situation but didn't give up right until the end any way, despite how terrified he must have been. What a man. It is amazing that he was even able to still try to signal a mayday or wave at the jet given the level of hypoxia. Hearing his father talk about forever mourning him is heart breaking. This is the only episode I've seen (so far at least) where at least the passengers wouldn't have been aware of what was going on and would have died painlessly.
God bless and keep Andreas Prodromou. He was a hero. In fact dude was like a frickin terminator. He would've made a damn fine Marine, and an outstanding pilot, or whatever else he wanted to be. So sad. But I have the UTMOST respect for that man. To do what was right even when he was most likely scared out of his mind. THAT is true courage. And bless all the others involved.
The true tragedy is that that poor crewman was doing his best to save a plane full of effectively dead people. With almost 100% certainty everyone save him on the plane was in a vegetative state from profound hypoxia - they were almost certainly brain dead long before the crash. He was, without realizing it, trying to simply save himself and failed. The only good thing is that it was a painless death for those on the plane save for that one poor soul. When the captain started obsessing about the ventilation breakers, you knew that hypoxia was taking hold, because it absolutely devours your higher brain functions. They go first, as the brain tries to keep the vital functions going on available oxygen as long as possible.
@@lisasanders9472 A little tough to be that way. When your brain is gasping for air. He was a little rough on his co-pilot. About being done yet with the check list. I noticed it right off. The co-pilot was probably thinking. It's going to be a long flight. Being the captain was an ass. Looked to me that the co-pilot got a little shuck up. Lost his nerve. Because of captain ass.
@@mikeloghry9521 Actually Captain Merton wasn’t supposed to work that day, but Helios hired him to fly flights for Greek tourists. He must’ve been quite cranky, but as the captain you’re supposed to try to hide it.
I don't get why we don't have video of cockpit in this day and age. It could be set to be triggered only when an emergency or May Day is declared. It could be set to start recording only when May Day is heard....in so many cases it would vastly improve investigations.
That guy knew exactly what he was doing. Crashed it where it wouldn’t hit people on the ground. Sat by his woman until he walked to the cockpit and ended it. Hero in my book.
This crash frustrates me for many reasons and one of them is that while the investigation found the pilots to be directly responsible for the crash the victims relatives blamed the carrier (executives as well as an engineer and a lead pilot) and not the flight crew. While I agree the carrier shares the blame to listen to the wife of the co-pilot say "For us it was good because our own was not to blame" is baffling. Your husband failed to check the pressurization switch as instructed in the checklist and 121 people died. I hate throwing dead pilots under the bus but in this case the crash would not have happened if the flight crew had performed this most rudimentary of tasks before taking off. As for Andreas I imagine he would have entered the flight deck, tried and failed to revive the first officer, seen the aircraft was on autopilot and gone back to try and revive his girlfriend. This isn't saying he did anything wrong. While the aircraft was on auto pilot and the passengers still alive he likely would not have wanted to take the aircraft off of autopilot and risk crashing it prematurely. When the F16's showed up he went back to the cockpit, waved, and tried to Mayday but got no response. The aircraft ran out of the fuel and began to fall. I don't know what the fuel panel looks like on that aircraft and he may not have been able to read it well enough to understand the consumption rate and how close he really was to running out of fuel. Or perhaps he did know and knew he could do nothing about it but make sure the airplane did not impact in the city. Ultimately, I think he did everything he could. With no response to his mayday call it would have been extremely risky for him to attempt to land alone with no contact with the ground and I don't think he was the type of person that would risk people on the ground if he could avoid it. I do wonder though as a commercial pilot himself how it is he did not know how to find the channels to talk to Athens ATC as I would assume the channels were noted in the flight paperwork in the cabin. However, maybe that isn't the case. In the end I wish he too would have succumbed to unconsciousness as what he went through was horrible.
Yeah, it is sad that there were a number of opportunities to save the plane that weren't taken. The pilots could have fixed the switch during the preflight checklist or by noticing the green light or when the communications from the ground asked them to check it. They could have noticed the depressurization either by their own physical symptoms (ears popping, lightheartedness, etc.) or if they had understood the warning light related to cabin temperature/pressure. Even failing to fix the switch, all they had to do was put on their own masks or lower the plane's altitude at that time. And Andreas managed to keep himself conscious and he had earned his pilots license, yet failed to revive the pilots quick enough, turn on communications with the ground, recognize the low air pressure could be fixed by lowering the plane, turn on automatic pressurization (far fetched), or even just land the plane himself before his oxygen ran out. Even just any single one of these actions could have saved the plane. It's frustrating that it feels like a good outcome was possible and so close.
Andreas was almost certainly hypoxic given that none of the face masks give a good seal on your face (pilots are not allowed to have beards because they interfere with the mask for example) and he probably wouldn't have donned the pilot's mask given that he didn't attempt to fly the plane and the other one he put on the copilot. When you're hypoxic, it's difficult to think clearly and he may not have had the mental capacity to think "check for a pressurization switch" or "search the radio frequencies" or "change the autopilot altitude".
What an honorable and courageous man. There's something poignant about the fact that the name of the airline is Helios. Andreas, your bravery and determination shone brighter than the sun. All odds stacked against you, yet you never gave up. You were a hero to the very end.
"Seems to be an electrical problem" could also just mean the in-flight movie isn't playing. Without more detail, why would a flight attendant assume such a general statement made so casually was anything disastrous?
48:21 the ending along with the music really made me cry. These people died too soon. May god help them rest knowing that they aren’t forgotten. This is my prayer to them: Arabic: alleh yiglebeck elly al-janna idha kent taani. al-rahma he ma nastahkah comeia andama nahtajha les hanak qua akbarak la irada akbar walis hanak shaya horr swe al-hab walqua wonama galgna al-wahid alleh. English: May God bring you to paradise if you are suffering. Mercy is what we all deserve when we need it. There’s no power greater, no will greater and there is nothing free except the love, power and the grace of our one and only creator, God. 🙏🏻✝️
Cockpit masks aren't like cabin masks. They are connected to actual oxygen tanks and can last much longer than cabin masks. The drawback of this necessary design is that the masks can't deploy automatically
They really didnt know what the problem was, the warning for takeoff config is the same for cabin pressure warning, also the effects of hypoxia would've taken effect slowly causing them to act weird and making them confused. When you fly a plane you dont just guess what a problem is when there is one.
@@northern830 I think OP doesn’t realize that pilots are trained to first diagnose the problem, THEN take action making sure to strictly follow checklists for that specific problem. And this is for good reason. There have been crashes like Transasia 235 where the pilot heard alarms and immediately tried to take action without even knowing what the problem was and he ended up causing the crash, despite the fact that the plane would’ve been completely fine if he would’ve done absolutely nothing at all
I watched a couple of videos on this crash. Please, all the people the run checks, the dear pilots, an ground control, we are always are in your hands that fly. This is such a tragic crash. Please check everything before an aircraft takes off. Thank you. Bless the dear families that lost their loved ones. Tears
Even if the passengers were alive, they were still lost to a perpetual vegetative state. They were essentially all dead 20 minutes into the flight, except for Andreas.
That's what the MASTER CAUTION alert is for. There is also a light with the words PASS OXY ON that would've lit up on the overhead panel telling the pilots that the passengers' masks were deployed. Neither pilot performed their necessary memory items and checklists during the whole incident.
@@_gav__ That's a terrible idea, especially only after a couple of minutes. The last thing any pilot performing their emergency memory items and checklists want is a third party distraction. Aviate, navigate, and communicate; notice how communicate is at the end.
@Brody Gilbert Makes you wonder, if this sealing off of the pilots from the rest of the plane is more dangerous than the old way... in some cases it definitely has caused problems leading to disaster... of course it has to be this way since 9-11 but makes you wonder...
Why don't they just make some type of system to remotely override the plane in an emergency like this to take control of it, and see if they can land it?
I’ve seen this tragic story on another channel and it’s absolutely heart breaking 😢. God Bless the brave flight attendant who tried to save all souls on board. May God bless and keep all the victims, their families and loved ones. ✝️🙏🏻
I am reading the report and due to the long exposure to hypoxia, these people would’ve been in a non-reversible coma even if Andreas was able to land it.
Yeah definitely, the nature of this video makes it easy to gloss over, but they were up there for like, 3 hours. That’s a long time with that low oxygen.
The "last minute addition to the flight crew" was the biggest blessing possible in disguise. What an absolutely horrible situation; what an incredibly selfless person Andreas was. My heart goes out go the loved ones of everyone on board, left behind to try and pick up the pieces of a shattered life. 🧡
This accident is one of the biggest examples of failure to adhere to SOP's and breakdown of CRM in aviation. Everyone who has ever sat on the right hand seat of a 737 knows that the DIFF PRESSURE and CABIN ALT gauge is checked at least twice before reaching cruising altitude, once right after takeoff and the other at 10,000 feet. It's also trained from day 1 to every 737 pilot that the first memory item to do is to don the oxygen mask when the Cabin Altitude Horn sounds. Boeing added two CABIN ALTITUDE warning lights to the main panel annunciators on new 737's after this accident to avoid any confusion in the future between cabin altitude and takeoff config warnings.
It’s so unfortunate that the master warning isn’t more clear. There is a trillion bad things that can happen to any aircraft. If the warning said “Oxygen masks have been deployed.” or “Cabin depressurization.” They would’ve easily been able to fix the tweaked switch or climb to a safe altitude. Also I’m very curious what that brave person did for 3 hours straight..? As soon as you go into that cockpit as a person with real flight training/experience, shouldn’t you know to get down to a safe altitude. However very chilling story. None will ever forget that brave soul and those people who died a tragic but mostly silent death. (I also believe that brave man diverted the airplane to save many people from dying on the ground.)
If there was proof in the black boxes that he kept the jet from crashing into Athens, he should have gotten Greece’s version of the Medal of Honor. He couldn’t save his passengers or crew, but there may well be an Athens, a Parthenon, because of him. RIP....
forgive my naive question, if possible please answer, why didn't the captain/atc request emergency landing at nearby airport at 9:01? I mean if the problem is nothing seen in their thousands of hours of experience, or telling you its not ready to take off while you're on the air, and everyone's confused, it's a serious problem! Instead of being confused and asking to confirm so many times, just get to ground and have people look at it. I understand that taking off and landing a plane is very dangerous when no one knows what's going on but they should try to descent and see if additional issues pop up instead of keeping route.
I think the depressurization of the plane happened really quickly and too fast for them to think rationally. They were already feeling loopy and confused and quickly lost consciousness, way before the rest of the plane because they didn’t get oxygen masks.
Oh my. Oh my. One of the most tragic and also heroic stories I've ever heard of about air disasters. As an ICU nurse, I'm very, very familiar with what occurs in low oxygen states in people. Yes, they can't think coherently. They can't act in their own best interests. As their nurse, I've been responsible for recognizing when patients enter into a hypoxic state, and to help them as best as is medically possible. I've been trained to recognize the symptoms even when patients aren't necessarily hooked up to oxygen monitors: I can read their vital signs from our available instrumentation, I can act upon these vital signs to help them with oxygen administration . I know how to help people who are having these problems. But that's when I have proper equipment to help me. And I surely wouldn't have known what to do in a situation like this.. My heart breaks.. Had I been on this plane and had I been oxygen deprived, it's quite likely that I would not have been able to think clearly enough to help anyone at all. And yet the flight attendant did EVERYTHING he could have done under these circumstances. I honor him. And it is , in my perspective, perhaps a small consolation to the families of the victims, that indeed their loved ones were deeply asleep, probably comatose and didn't experience pain nor fear during the crash. I do understand that this doesn't take away anyone's losses, but I do hope to comfort those who suffered and help them realize that their loved ones were not in pain or fear when they passed. Nonetheless, it was a complete mistake, a complete waste of innocent human lives , and of course, I wish it hadn't happened...
It seems to me that despite the pressurization left on manual, the pilots should have picked that up on the ground while doing their check list...and turned the switch to auto....
I always mention that I am from South Africa now I saw there is more subscribers who mentioned their country, and I think this is really very good it makes the opportunity see where every subscriber live it is amazing for me it makes it feel like we already knew each other. Greetings from South Africa Erica
Do you enjoy watching Mayday episodes in full? Watch more full episodes over on our other channel, Curious?: Science and Engineering: bit.ly/3xo1mtF
Given the subject matter of your channel I can’t actually say I enjoy watching Mayday episodes, but I do find these accounts (of something I hope I never experience) fascinating, informative & well produced.
Yes I do!!
Imagine being that fighter pilot initially catching up to the plane and seeing everyone passed out. That had to be so eerie.
The actor did a great job in conveying the sorrow and terror of the F-16 pilot, you know it was terrible for him.
@@htos1av indeed
yeah
The fighter pilot seeing all those people just slumped over, asleep, still breathing, totally alive, and realizing that he's about to witness a jetliner with all those lives onboard collide into the earth, and just disintegrating. My God, just seeing that whole catastrophe unfold before your eyes! Thinking about it is really freaking me out.
Similar thing happened to golfer Payne Stewart back in 1999.
The silver lining was the fact that all the passengers were unconscious, and it would've been peaceful going to sleep. That kind of slow hypoxia generally does not cause you to feel like you are suffocating, you go pretty easily. They just slipped into a coma and were unaware what was happening.
I do not want to go peacefully into the night. I want a chance to say I love you to the people near me. I want a chance to make peace with my maker. I hate it when people tell me things are going to be alright before I die. I have a right to panic. I have a right to feel before I die. This is the worst death. The worst! You die while you're still alive!!!
Was far better this way. Than to be fully aware your of the life is going to end in just a few moments. Knowing your going to die. Strapted to a chair in the falling to your death. The horror of it.
@@Krystalmyth I totally agree with you. In your comment. Making peace with our Maker. Forgive me for all my sins. Is a MUST for sure.
I really wonder if you would jolt awake upon impact
TheCheeryElement I mean, I'm not a doctor so don't take this with 100% accuracy in case I'm wrong, but no. With the time they were unconscious, even though they may have been still alive possibly, brain damage would have set in and it would be impossible for awareness to come back once total brain death happens. That is why when the flight attendant trying to fly the plane put the oxygen on the copilot and nothing happened, its likely by then his brain was totally irreversibly damaged.
Andreas did all he could, considering how he was diminished, and just ran out of time. Very sad to hear his father talk about how he may never get over his son's tragic death.
There are some deaths whose wounds heal at a snail’s pace and whose scars never fade completely away... I have such a scar from when I lost the first cat who was mine (got him when I was 4 in 1998, he passed suddenly in 2008 at the foot of my bed... I was 14) and the wound has only just closed... I can empathize with the father saying that the loss of his son is something he might never get over...
He should have just taken over the controls and landed the silly plane instead of playing nursemaid with the oxygen tanks, he had a pilots license for Christ’s sake! Land the plane, THEN help those in need!
@@emeraldqueen1994 I know what your saying, there is no pain as sharp as losing your cat. I’ve lost my brother, then my mother, but let me tell you, those deaths were nothing compared to when my 21 year old cat died, I wanted to die myself!
@@rockland2 most of the passengers on board would've already died from lack of oxygenated
@@rockland2 he couldnt contol it he wouldve run out of oxygen before he could land
Of all the Air Crash Investigation episodes I've watched, this has probably got to be one of the scariest. Prodromou was a hero right to the end.
Oh my God, and it freaky too because there are photos of the bodies from the crash site on Google. What a horrifying scene
@Ruben Thomas I agree with you 100%. It is a very sad story and a tragic loss of life 😢
This was very bad but the scariest episode has got to be the 2 flights ✈️that collided in mid air and all the gifted kids who passed on. That was a truly sad episode 😥
@@UK-sm4co Überlingen mid-air collision.
@@UK-sm4co No. That one was the most violent and sad. But THIS one was just plain creepy.
I've watched a lot of Mayday episodes, but this one, namely the end, hit me harder than the others.
The father grieving his son, the photos of the two headstones side by side, and the pictures on the hillside. I found myself crying even more when they zoomed in on the photo of the little family.
Rest in peace to everyone who perished on Helios Airways Flight 522. Thank you, Andreas, for being so fearless.
I first saw this episode when it came out and at the end part, as you mentioned, my wife began sobbing. I asked her what's wrong and she replied "these are my people." We're Greek. Your comment is very kind and thoughtful Kate. Bless you for that.
To think that all of this was the result of one little switch being left in the wrong position. 😔😢
A flight crew that completed their checklists and followed standard operating procedures would have prevented this accident.
@@RBK855 that's exactly what I was thinking, wouldn't the pilot and co-pilot have to do a checklist of all the switches before they can take off???
@@RBK855 Exactly. You cannot cut corners when you are operating complex machines like these. But over time, people just check boxes and glance over checklists that they have done hundreds of times before without even thinking about it. The crew had just flown the plane less than 10 hours ago and were probably unaware that the manual pressure check had been preformed.
All because of negligence to the point of criminality
@@RBK855 I don't know. I kind of feel an aircraft can be designed that doesn't need this kind of diligence to function. Imagine if cars worked this way. There's just too many flaws in the design of planes, and partially this is due to them being extremely old designs that don't get updated because of the cost to train crew. Which is absurd. Games and Software get updated constantly for a reason. But planes have to be stuck in a timewarp.
I think Andreas took control knowing while he couldn’t save the people onboard, he could at least prevent the plane from killing untold numbers by diverting it away from populated areas.
I think so, yeah.
I think he was trying to save lives.
Although I don't disagree with you, the flight pattern of the plane was controlled by the left engine running out of fuel and not that of someone steering. While I'm sure he wanted to make sure no one else would be hurt or killed, his body was almost certainly in such distress that he would have no hope of making any meaningful decisions.
Why didn't he respond to the radio calls?
@@stafonvoncamron because it was still tuned to Cyprus.
I'm crying this man was a HERO. Bless him for trying so hard to save all those people.
I swear it's always heros that perish I recently watched a video about an ice bridge collapsing at Niagra falls 17 year old boy was about to make his leap to safety when he heard calls for help behind him he abandoned his safe exit to go back & attempt to help save a couple unfortunately all 3 didn't survive but bless that boy that turned back so heartbreaking
@Shroom Grizzley why you laughing it's not funny heros do die quite a few times saving people
Your really crying .. weak human
@@crazymotherofcats3361 absolutely tragic but what a hero. What's the name of that documentary? If you don't mind me asking
@@ELIGG15 I think the problem with @Shroom Grizzley is lack of maternal love/affection I guess mommy's attention was elsewhere🤔🤷♀️
I’m wondering if Andreas left the cockpit the first time to say goodbye to his girlfriend. What a tragedy, his poor father. May he and everyone on the flight RIP.
That's what I was thinking 😥
Thought the same thing
Just told my wife the same thing.. I would have come to be by your side one last time
@@nicholaskemry2247 I don't know you, but thank you...
Yes, exactly this. I think so too.
At least the passengers were unconscious and didn't feel the terror of knowing they're about to die. May God bring peace to the families. :'(
You look horrible.
You look worse!!!
He endured all of the above.. not to mention he died alone..
Except for the one person who basically ditched the plane in an area that wouldn’t harm any other people that’s why he nose dived it. So he was totally aware of what was happening. Yeah the other passengers weren’t but he was. It’s sad tragic.
@@lorimiller4301 m mom
All plane crashes are sad, but this one is one of the saddest.
I think it’s bc we know what happened
And it was due to one turn of a dial. 🙏 For the mechanic mental health who forgot to turn it back.
i seen the aftermath crash photos, extremely graphic
I agree! This one is. I think second is the one where they left the tape on the sensors. One small thing takes out so many people!!
IK Right It's Was 😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞
Andreas was a hero.
It is frustrating that a plane that had absolutely nothing wrong with it crashed.
He wanted to be a pilot for Helios. He got his wish in the last few minutes.
Immensely sad. RIP all souls on Helios Flt 522. Andrea Prodromou in the eyes of the Lord; you earned your wings.
How beautiful and well said especially the earning his wings that really brought me to tears 😭🙏🏽❤️😇✝️
This is truly heartbreaking 💔. How alone he must have felt being the only one conscious. He tried everything he could to not only save himself and the passengers but the woman he loved. My heart goes out to all of those families that lost someone on that plane.
You have a nice and tender heart. Don't see that much in these days and times. Thank You for being a breath of fresh air.
I agree. I felt so bad and think this man was a hero. He tried. He really tried.
he didnt try hard enough. someone on that flight had to have a phone. if he was conscious for that long and then after the plane went into a holding pattern , he could have radio for help. now, would that have made any difference, i doubt it but at least, he would have had help using the auto pilot and ground to try land the plane. now, they were in a holding pattern for a pretty long time, so why did it take them that long to scramble a jet to check out whats going on with a plane that is not responding from the time it entered its airspace and needing identification confirmation...
B Jvu You weren’t and will never ever be exactly in his shoes. He was holding on by a thread and you wanted him to do all that and judged him when no matter what happened death was going to be their fate.
@@bjvu9460 um what good is the phone going to do?
This is the episode that had gotten me into watching air crash investigations. It amazes me how they can figure out what happened even if the plane is destroyed.
Mine was the Seconds from Disaster on Valuejet flight 592.
@@JAF1323 This is my first but I’m going to check that one out next.
The flight Attendant ✈️was a hero. May their gentle souls continue to rest in perfect peace
I found this channel a couple hours ago and can't stop watching
121 lives lost because somebody forgets to flip a switch. Very Tragic, Indeed.
It is on pilot’s check list to see if the switch is on Auto mode
@@Alderbridge before helios accident it isnt on pilot checklist... after that, add on checklist...
And the flight engineer was not reprimanded? For deadly mistake?
This entire crash is so sad. The complacency of the maintenance crew and pilots really doomed the entire flight. It was absolutely preventable.
which one of the several crash that youve watched on here is exciting and not sad? is it the one where the plane plunge to earth at 500 miles per hour with everyone conscious of whats happening or the ones that does get to land then people burn to death when it cant stop?
The maintenance man made the crash possible by leaving the air system on manual 🥺
@@matthewalston1226 well, checking that switch IS part of preflight checklists, so the pilots are also at fault, but still i wonder how guilty the engineer must have felt, i dont remember if it was mentioned in the show, but the engineer talking to them who asked "Can you confirm that the pressurization panel is set to auto?" was the engineer who had set it to manual to check it
he must have realized in that moment he never set it back to auto, lotta guilt he must have felt
@@POKEMANZZ3 He most definitely would have known, especially since he was on the radio to them and would have remembered he was in the cockpit just a few hours earlier. No, the episode didn't mention anything further about the blame of the maintenance engineer. I'm sure it would have all been covered up to save face and any blame on him. The airline industry is like that - plus Greek culture would be even more so.
"His dream is to be a pilot for Helios."
Well before the plane crashed, he got his wish in his last few minutes. At least his wish came true and he tried saving 120 lives out of it too. We will never forget this heroic act.
@@DMVRailfan sometimes fate is very cruel and teasing.
Thank you for finally allowing your content somewhere other than cable. I have been looking to buy all the seasons for years but it hasn't been available. Hopefully you will release more episodes here or at least make it available for purchase.
Try Amazon. I’ve gotten some of the seasons that way.
Andreas gave it a good shot, remember in hypoxic conditions, you're at best at 5-10% of reaction capabilities. RIP to all, never forgotten.
How can anyone "remember" what they never knew in the first place? Might be good to reword that.
@@jb6712he held a UK pilots license, one of the most prestigious permits in the world.
When you are wearing face masks too long,,,
Shocking that there isn't a clear cut warning that the plane is not pressurized. What's also shocking is that passenger masks fall automatically, yet pilots may have no clue that one is even needed.
I'm also surprised that none of the flight attendants reached out to the cockpit right away to see what's going on.
@Brody Gilbert so all the new safety requirements doomed 150+ people. Kinda ironic.
I’m really shocked the pilot trained flight attendant couldn’t tell that the aircraft was on autopilot and tried to set it to 10k feet so the oxygen levels were sufficient and may have brought the crew back. He may have not been trained on a 737 and probably couldn’t have found the cabin altitude selector switch, but autopilots on all aircraft share some similarities and I’m sure he could’ve figured that out.
@@Ian-pe9rj Yeah, it's surprising he didn't manage to figure out a fix. Other options included, figuring out how to turn on communications so the ground could just tell him what to do or manually flying the plane to a lower altitude.
@@FishDawg He was already hypoxic, if no portable oxygen tank was stored at the back of the cabin where he was seated, the effects would've set in as he made his way to the front. Hypoxia is devastating, it causes a rapid decline in functionality. Useful consciousness is about 30 seconds, identifying the signs of hypoxia in that time, is rarely possible.
Had he been seated at the front, as any flight attendant with a commercial pilots license should be, he'd have noticed the immediate failure to descend and entered the cabin prior to the hypoxia setting in. He'd then have been able to secure masks to the flight crew, perhaps set the autopilot or just passed out. Either way, him sitting at the front would've saved the plane.
@@lagon7830
All good points, except we don't know if him sitting in front would've saved the plane.
It seems like the cabin pressurization switch would have been on one of the pre-flight checklists that the flight crew is supposed to perform. But I've also seen, in watching these crash investigations, that the checklists are sometimes treated as a matter of formality rather than actually verifying what they're supposed to. We get complacent when repeating the same things over and over again. This was an easily avoidable tragedy. What's scary is just how easy it can be to have one.
Yeah Especially The Way The CAPTAIN Was Acting. I know their just actors. But I'm sure it happens. To human is to error.
The impatience of the pilot was a factor, too, by the sounds of it. If he hadn't interrupted the copilot as he was doing his preflight check, that switch might have been noticed.
@@jb6712
Good point.
@@jb6712 and if the Captain had actually listened to the Engineer on the ground who asked about the air pressure system. Captain ignores that and asks about something else.
You're correct, it's on pre flight checklist, according to some other 747 pilots i have listened to about this incident on TH-cam.
I respect the investigators for trying to make sure what happened was as accurate as possible.
However, I must've missed the part when they explained how this will now be prevented in the future. Also no mention of any layoffs regarding the mechanics who forgot the switch.
I’ve always wanted to watch this full episode! Thank you!!
Two different alarms make the same sound? One of them virtually unheard of by personnel? Insane design.
Crazy how he was still conscious, I can’t imagine how terrifying it would’ve been, seeing all the crewmates and passengers passed out like that. He was the all alone, he had the fear as he knew he was going to die, the others were passed out, at least they didn’t fear for their lives, realizing their fate at the very end..
Yeah this one made me cry. Just so prolonged; so much suffering and helplessness. Absolutely heartbreaking.
L
I feel like if the cockpit knew that the oxygen masks had deployed, they would have gotten a big hint and checked the switch.
I believe the Helios was a 737-300 and all my experience is in the 600/700/800 series but the overhead panel is pretty identical, there is a light on the overhead panel that is labeled “pass oxy on”. These types of accidents are very hard to read about when you fly the plane yourself. This accident was very avoidable. Systems knowledge should have told these pilots what the problem was. I am not sure what helios’s cockpit checks are but one of them usually is to verify the pressurization control panel and that is to make sure the control is in Auto mode, not Manual like it was. I can not stress enough how important training is in your career and unfortunately some countries run shy on training. Not saying Helios is one of them since I can comment on it directly because I have never seen their training program.
Yes... a lack of communication between cockpit and passengers/crew also contributed to the problem.. that door sealing off the pilots from the passengers is not always a good thing..
And why doesn't the pilot and co-pilots oxygen masks automatically drop down ???
@@Drummondmbf100 it's a totally different type of mask. A lot bigger than the passenger mask
If only
There was a Learjet that had a similar fate six years before. The resulting crash killed pro golfer Payne Stewart.
@@patrickmollohan3082 I remember watching it too. I couldn't understand why or how that could have happened. This video explains it in great detail. Rip to all and both planes.
@@patrickmollohan3082 I saw the Mayday episode on Payne Stewart’s crash. While the NTSB never did find the cause of the pressurization problem, they did find a flaw with Sunjet Aviation’s checklists. Their checklist instructed the pilots to troubleshoot the pressurization problem before donning oxygen masks. After finding that out, the FAA mandated that if a pressurization problem occurs, all checklists must have the donning of oxygen masks as the first item on the list.
My family enjoyed watching Payne Stewart play golf. He was one of a kind. So sad.
But in that case, and a few others, the windows fogged/frosted over. I wonder why that didn't happen here.
@@patrickmollohan3082 ok I accept this, however you should know the window frosting comes from atmosphere, not the people. Lol
He may not have been successful in saving the plane, but he's still a hero.
Spoilers much?
@@TheOtherOtherJoey
It’s a plane crash not endgame
@@christiniakollar8397 Believe it or not, some people are more concerned about real life than fantasy nerd world.
@@TheOtherOtherJoey
Completely missing the point . This was a real life tragedy . Don’t complain about the comment spoiling stuff like it’s a movie .
@@christiniakollar8397 Hold up, did you think that people aren’t watching this because the stories are interesting?
andreas prodromou is a true hero
I agree.
That FA is a hero. Unfortunately even heroes fail sometimes. The pride and pain in his fathers heart is so evident. RIP 🍻
Well, he did not entirely fail. He did manage to ensure that the plane did not crash into the city, where more people would be hurt, regardless of whether or not the plane may have crashed there.
He didn't "fail," he didn't have enough oxygen or fuel to land the plane. He was out of time, period.
No offense, Andreas didn't do anything but say a few words over the radio. He didn't have enough fuel or oxygen to do anything. He never flown that plane.
He did NOT fail. He did not have enough information. Had he known what was going on sooner, then 4 O2 bottles would have allowed plenty of time for him to descend to at least 10,000 ft, a safe altitude, and from there no doubt been able to land the aircraft safely.
he's a hero for trying...it just doesn't always work out
@Cody Dillashaw …..I agree. I consider him a hero.
Wow....they didn't even know they died. Their last memory was passing out. How eerie.
This crash account was especially poignant, to know how long and valiantly the young man struggled to save a doomed plane. I know he and all of the victims are at peace in Heaven now, but what terrible sorrow remains at the loss of precious life.
With them being greek he would have a place in Elysian Fields, a place where heros rest in greek mythology
Precious life? Oh no. You can make life accidentally. I've never accidentally made a Rolex.
Incredible how seemingly little it takes to set off a catastrophic chain of events when you isolate them on there own. It really goes to prove why the small details that we often find annoying as passengers are so crucial and important in the event things go sideways. I don’t normally find myself flying but this series has certainly given me pause enough that I would never even consider whining or complaining over the precautions that they must take to ensure the safety of everyone. God bless all of these brave folks both past and present.
We really should have a system that if the oxygen or pressure changes to require oxygen and the pilot doesn't input a descent, then the auto pilot initiates a descent to a breathing level and holds there. It'd give them at least a chance to do something
Good idea
The fact that this isnt a feature already is just frustrating..
So many lives and so many potential future events like this could be avoided.
That can't be done. Air traffic control has planes all flying at different altitudes to avoid mid-air collisions. A plane automatically descending without warning could cause 2 planes to collide, making the situation worse.
@@gatorhunter1 is it really that common for planes to fly directly above one another?
@@gatorhunter1 so it's impossible for an onboard system to send an automated beacon to at in an emergency. Instead it's safer for a ghost plane to auto pilot to a populated area near an airport with no communication till it falls out of the sky? Since we already have machines that send out emergency signals if something happens, it seems very possible
At least they were passed out not knowing the fear they faced rip how can you forget to turn such an important switch back
When you do maintenance you’re literally supposed to have the book open in front of you. When people mistakenly believe they don’t have to follow the checklists, this is what happens. Complacency kills.
@@MiVidaBellisima But is setting that switch to auto not part of the takeoff checklist?
I think the guy didn't have his mind on the task at hand. Now to live the rest of his life, knowing this day in and day out. Night after night. Wasn't Paying Attention To DETAIL. That killed everyone on board. Truly TRULY SAD )-;
@@MiVidaBellisimaYep
@@notsocooldude7720 I wondered the Same.
My theory for why it took so long for Andreas to enter the cockpit: He was probably trying to help his girlfriend. They said that 3 of the 4 oxygen bottles had been completely used up. He may have been trying to share the oxygen with her. She might have been semi-conscious and he was trying to keep her alive or maybe she was completely unconscious and he didn’t want to leave her. He was probably also suffering from hypoxia and maybe didn’t even realize how much time was passing. Maybe he thought they were going to crash soon anyway and it was better to just stay with his beloved. The appearance of the fighter jets might have given him some motivation to try and land the plane himself, which is why he entered the cockpit around the time they showed up.
I once read how military pilots are given a training exercise consisting of going inside a depressurization chamber and being given a complicated task to perform. They'd find out first-hand how quickly and thoroughly they become impaired by low air pressures. I'm surprised that the flight attendant didn't know how to use the radio.
That baffled me too. Come on, on 9/11 passengers were able to call 911 or relatives. Same with the flight attendants, they called 911. So don't know what type of plane this was, not being able to use a phone and call for help for 3 hours?
Maybe back in day you couldn't?
@@ManuelaBeautyGlam You were required to turn off your cell phone while on a plane, back in the day.
He was suffering from lack of oxygen, he couldn't think clearly. He probably thought that he had the radio on properly
He couldn't think clearly. Due to the very low lack of air. His brain couldn't function properly.
they mention at the end of the video that the radio was still tuned to the airport in Cyprus and he probably didn't have the brain function at that point to realize it wasn't going to be heard by Athens
One of the most amazing men I’ve ever heard of. Bless his soul. A true hero
Lol! Man, peoples definition of HERO is weak. Name one thing in this episode that Andreas did, that wasn't for his own benefit???? A HERO isn't someone who simply tries to save themself. A HERO isn't someone who tries to revive the co-pilot to use as a tool to land the plane TO SAVE HIMSELF. A HERO isn't someone who tries to save themself & just happens to save others because they are a byproduct of saving oneself.
This accident always fascinated me due to how eerie it was. I can see why Andreas would have gotten up to investigate given they were in a decompression emergency but the plane was still climbing. Looking at the reports, it took ~10 minutes from the first alarm to reach their cruising altitude of 34,000 feet where they stayed till flame out. At this point, useful consciousness is 60 seconds at best and probably closer to thirty. Even using the passenger masks on his way up he would have been affected. And given their extreme altitude for several hours, it's possible he also developed other complications to this type of exposure. I do wonder if things would have been different if it had been him seated in the front - close to the portable oxygen and the cockpit.
Although much is made of the switch, more recent coverage has shown that it was turned way past the manual setting and that it was extensively damaged at impact - meaning we can't actually be sure of the original setting despite original investigators being insistent we could. It also turns out that this model from Boeing had previous issues with pressurization and confusing warning lights in general. The accident craft itself had a history of a loss of pressure, loud noises, and extremely cold air - all originating from the back of the aircraft. I kind of want to say that these things were not just coincidences, that this plane had something seriously wrong with it that was not found out in time. What we got was the easiest answer - it just may not have been the right one.
I can't imagine the nightmare Andreas went through, especially if he gave one of the pilots O2 only to discover he was too late. To be on a plane you can't fly, you're sick, you're loved one is barely there with you, and everyone else is essentially already dead...what do you do? I wonder if he came to a decision at some point to simply wait till flameout and ensure they went down in a clear area. The fact that he was a licensed pilot but it never occurred to him to change the radio frequency speaks volumes to just what kind of condition he was in.
This is really interesting, thank you.
That was a very serious investigation.
As a pilot, I hear stories like these and it makes me stop and reflect. I learn from these stories and as unfortunate as it is, I think of myself as a better pilot as a result of these horrible tragedies. May the passengers and crew of flight 522 Rest In Peace.
Oh thank god, its the actual ghost plane story and not the viral hoax about the flight that went missing for like 50 years or whatever, came back, and then disappeared again. Any time I hear "ghost flight" i just think of that story and cringe unless its April 1st upload.
I think it’s a general term. I saw the term used for a westbound flight from Florida where there was a problem with pressurizing cabin air.
@@Sunset553 Are you talking about the one that killed Payne Stewart?
@@Powerranger-le4up Yes
@@Sunset553 That crash was talked about in the 16th season.
Eastern Airlines flight 401 - an L-1011 that crashed in the Everglades in early 1970s is what I think of when I hear the term “ghost flight”. Survivors and coworkers of the captain that died claimed to see him for years on flights afterwards. A TV movie was made about it, “The Ghost of Flight 401.”
God bless Andres. May the souls of all he tried to save rest In peace, and their loved ones find comfort in precious memories 🙏.
It’s a damn shame he didn’t have enough O2 to think clearly. If he had he would have realized his first priority would be to get to a safe altitude. Set the autopilot to 10,000 feet and within minutes he’s out of danger. But with hypoxia you just can’t think straight.
The plane was out of fuel and going to crash.
I thinks hes talking about the first time he went into the cabin, had he of realized, he could of gotten it to a safe level, switch radio channles and called immediate emergency landing
That easy? 😮 If I’m ever in a scenario like this, I will do this. Seems so simple. Not a pilot or nothing but considering the amount of travel I do and planes I take between countries, maybe this advice will be useful one day.
@@josemannyhernandez4760 except you wouldn't have the code to get into the cockpit!
@@sandrabentley8111 But will have the willpower to break the door no matter what 😉
Just imagine if they'd put as much ingenuity and attention to detail into the damn warning lights, as they did to solve the crash, the crash never would have happened.
After binge watching these documentaries, I can unequivocally say it's truly a miracle that most flights safely transport people all over the world. If I ever fly again, I will not take it for granted. IF.
Keep it in the context of 40 million flights a year.
The last decade was the lowest fatalities since 1950s I believe & less than half of the fatalities of 1970s. Current fatality odds are 1 in 11 million for a commercial flight crash vs 1 in 5,000 for a car crash. So you are around 2,000 times more likely to die in a car crash. So do you ever use a car, because that's waaaayyyyyyy more dangerous?
While it is true you are usually the one driving. So something about that seems to make you feel safer I think. And even tho they are much rarer when a plane crashes it's usually hundreds of people dying at once. Which seems a lot scarier as well. I'm no psychologist or anything. Just my opinion
People even comparing flying even a simple trainer aircraft to driving a car are missing the plot entirely. You can't just jump in a widebody jet, turn a key, and peel out of the airport and head to Walmart in it. There's next to zero actual skill or learning curve or information retention and procedural choreographic flow or possibility of killing 500 people involved with driving a Toyota Camry.
Andreas was a true hero and deserved nothing less than an hero’s honor. As his father was speaking I could feel him pain. RIP for everyone who was on the flight.
Andreas was in an impossible situation but didn't give up right until the end any way, despite how terrified he must have been. What a man. It is amazing that he was even able to still try to signal a mayday or wave at the jet given the level of hypoxia. Hearing his father talk about forever mourning him is heart breaking. This is the only episode I've seen (so far at least) where at least the passengers wouldn't have been aware of what was going on and would have died painlessly.
God damn I can't imagine being one of the fighter pilots watching it crash and being completely helpless in that situation.
I would probably just pull down my murdered out visor, so no one can see my emotions and feeling of helplessness
🤔 He's probably GLAD he didn't have to shoot it down....🥴🙏✈️🌹
Precious Paul
God bless and keep Andreas Prodromou. He was a hero. In fact dude was like a frickin terminator. He would've made a damn fine Marine, and an outstanding pilot, or whatever else he wanted to be. So sad. But I have the UTMOST respect for that man. To do what was right even when he was most likely scared out of his mind. THAT is true courage. And bless all the others involved.
The true tragedy is that that poor crewman was doing his best to save a plane full of effectively dead people. With almost 100% certainty everyone save him on the plane was in a vegetative state from profound hypoxia - they were almost certainly brain dead long before the crash. He was, without realizing it, trying to simply save himself and failed. The only good thing is that it was a painless death for those on the plane save for that one poor soul.
When the captain started obsessing about the ventilation breakers, you knew that hypoxia was taking hold, because it absolutely devours your higher brain functions. They go first, as the brain tries to keep the vital functions going on available oxygen as long as possible.
You would think a professional would realize why he was feeling dizzy
@@lisasanders9472 A little tough to be that way. When your brain is gasping for air. He was a little rough on his co-pilot. About being done yet with the check list. I noticed it right off. The co-pilot was probably thinking. It's going to be a long flight. Being the captain was an ass. Looked to me that the co-pilot got a little shuck up. Lost his nerve. Because of captain ass.
@@mikeloghry9521 Actually Captain Merton wasn’t supposed to work that day, but Helios hired him to fly flights for Greek tourists. He must’ve been quite cranky, but as the captain you’re supposed to try to hide it.
You know it'll end badly when they introduce a person and don't interview them within 10 seconds. Such a sad story.
This is probably the most scary one out there.
I feel for you father, I too have lost a 20 year old son and I will never get over it, I feel your pain!
I hope you find happiness in other ways from this
Bless you ❤️
I don't get why we don't have video of cockpit in this day and age. It could be set to be triggered only when an emergency or May Day is declared. It could be set to start recording only when May Day is heard....in so many cases it would vastly improve investigations.
It's probably to do with getting solid state memory rated for 3400 G impact.
That guy knew exactly what he was doing. Crashed it where it wouldn’t hit people on the ground. Sat by his woman until he walked to the cockpit and ended it. Hero in my book.
This crash frustrates me for many reasons and one of them is that while the investigation found the pilots to be directly responsible for the crash the victims relatives blamed the carrier (executives as well as an engineer and a lead pilot) and not the flight crew. While I agree the carrier shares the blame to listen to the wife of the co-pilot say "For us it was good because our own was not to blame" is baffling. Your husband failed to check the pressurization switch as instructed in the checklist and 121 people died. I hate throwing dead pilots under the bus but in this case the crash would not have happened if the flight crew had performed this most rudimentary of tasks before taking off.
As for Andreas I imagine he would have entered the flight deck, tried and failed to revive the first officer, seen the aircraft was on autopilot and gone back to try and revive his girlfriend. This isn't saying he did anything wrong. While the aircraft was on auto pilot and the passengers still alive he likely would not have wanted to take the aircraft off of autopilot and risk crashing it prematurely. When the F16's showed up he went back to the cockpit, waved, and tried to Mayday but got no response. The aircraft ran out of the fuel and began to fall. I don't know what the fuel panel looks like on that aircraft and he may not have been able to read it well enough to understand the consumption rate and how close he really was to running out of fuel. Or perhaps he did know and knew he could do nothing about it but make sure the airplane did not impact in the city. Ultimately, I think he did everything he could. With no response to his mayday call it would have been extremely risky for him to attempt to land alone with no contact with the ground and I don't think he was the type of person that would risk people on the ground if he could avoid it. I do wonder though as a commercial pilot himself how it is he did not know how to find the channels to talk to Athens ATC as I would assume the channels were noted in the flight paperwork in the cabin. However, maybe that isn't the case. In the end I wish he too would have succumbed to unconsciousness as what he went through was horrible.
Yeah, it is sad that there were a number of opportunities to save the plane that weren't taken. The pilots could have fixed the switch during the preflight checklist or by noticing the green light or when the communications from the ground asked them to check it. They could have noticed the depressurization either by their own physical symptoms (ears popping, lightheartedness, etc.) or if they had understood the warning light related to cabin temperature/pressure. Even failing to fix the switch, all they had to do was put on their own masks or lower the plane's altitude at that time.
And Andreas managed to keep himself conscious and he had earned his pilots license, yet failed to revive the pilots quick enough, turn on communications with the ground, recognize the low air pressure could be fixed by lowering the plane, turn on automatic pressurization (far fetched), or even just land the plane himself before his oxygen ran out. Even just any single one of these actions could have saved the plane. It's frustrating that it feels like a good outcome was possible and so close.
That mayday call showed how incapacitated he was to. His voice was barely audible and he could barely speak
Andreas was almost certainly hypoxic given that none of the face masks give a good seal on your face (pilots are not allowed to have beards because they interfere with the mask for example) and he probably wouldn't have donned the pilot's mask given that he didn't attempt to fly the plane and the other one he put on the copilot. When you're hypoxic, it's difficult to think clearly and he may not have had the mental capacity to think "check for a pressurization switch" or "search the radio frequencies" or "change the autopilot altitude".
What an honorable and courageous man. There's something poignant about the fact that the name of the airline is Helios. Andreas, your bravery and determination shone brighter than the sun. All odds stacked against you, yet you never gave up. You were a hero to the very end.
26:25 just like a lot of mechanics in every field...... fix nothing, screw something up, say it's repaired, give you a bill.......
Wow the moment I read this comment I checked the video and it was at 26:25 😳 😳
You accidentally put a documentary in between your 50 minutes of ads
Just fast forward to end, hit rewind button, and bam.....no ads
I remember when refreshing the webpage when an ad popped up automatically took all ads away.
I WAS THINKING THE VERY SAME THING. TOTALLY !!!
I just got a ad while reading this
Great channel, thanks for the upload. Work just got better with a new video to watch!
“Not again one of our problems” makes me so confident in airlines smh
"Seems to be an electrical problem" could also just mean the in-flight movie isn't playing. Without more detail, why would a flight attendant assume such a general statement made so casually was anything disastrous?
Love these shows edit: RIP to those people, didn't know it crashed 😞.
Me at the end of every episode
How about the acting thoo
48:21 the ending along with the music really made me cry. These people died too soon. May god help them rest knowing that they aren’t forgotten.
This is my prayer to them:
Arabic:
alleh yiglebeck elly al-janna idha kent taani. al-rahma he ma nastahkah comeia andama nahtajha les hanak qua akbarak la irada akbar walis hanak shaya horr swe al-hab walqua wonama galgna al-wahid alleh.
English:
May God bring you to paradise if you are suffering. Mercy is what we all deserve when we need it. There’s no power greater, no will greater and there is nothing free except the love, power and the grace of our one and only creator, God.
🙏🏻✝️
Hopefully they've learned enough from the investigation and reenactment to prevent this from ever happening again.
Andreas was a hero.
Why do the pilot's oxygen masks not automatically come down?
Cockpit masks aren't like cabin masks. They are connected to actual oxygen tanks and can last much longer than cabin masks. The drawback of this necessary design is that the masks can't deploy automatically
Wait, you take off and lights and buzzers start going off, yet you don't declare an emergency then turn around?
or stop climbing....
My thoughts exactly! That’s what I’m doing if I’m flying. Turning around & going back!
No of course you call an engineer and try to troubleshoot in the noisy cockpit while the plane is climbing...
They really didnt know what the problem was, the warning for takeoff config is the same for cabin pressure warning, also the effects of hypoxia would've taken effect slowly causing them to act weird and making them confused. When you fly a plane you dont just guess what a problem is when there is one.
@@northern830 I think OP doesn’t realize that pilots are trained to first diagnose the problem, THEN take action making sure to strictly follow checklists for that specific problem. And this is for good reason. There have been crashes like Transasia 235 where the pilot heard alarms and immediately tried to take action without even knowing what the problem was and he ended up causing the crash, despite the fact that the plane would’ve been completely fine if he would’ve done absolutely nothing at all
Andreas ultimate hero.
I watched a couple of videos on this crash. Please, all the people the run checks, the dear pilots, an ground control, we are always are in your hands that fly. This is such a tragic crash. Please check everything before an aircraft takes off. Thank you. Bless the dear families that lost their loved ones. Tears
None of the flight attendants called the Captain to tell him the oxygen masks came down?
Even if the passengers were alive, they were still lost to a perpetual vegetative state. They were essentially all dead 20 minutes into the flight, except for Andreas.
This has to have been one of the most tragic air crashes I have ever heard of.
Mr Andreas must be declared a national hero!! He fought to the very end to save the plane. RIP to all who were on the flight.
The crew didn’t tell the pilots that the oxygen masks deployed? Omgoodness this is horrible.....such a tragedy. Peace be with you all ❤️
That's what the MASTER CAUTION alert is for. There is also a light with the words PASS OXY ON that would've lit up on the overhead panel telling the pilots that the passengers' masks were deployed. Neither pilot performed their necessary memory items and checklists during the whole incident.
@@dynasty0019 new procedures should have flight attendants inform the pilots after a few minutes or attempt to breach the cockpit
@@_gav__ That's a terrible idea, especially only after a couple of minutes. The last thing any pilot performing their emergency memory items and checklists want is a third party distraction. Aviate, navigate, and communicate; notice how communicate is at the end.
@Brody Gilbert Makes you wonder, if this sealing off of the pilots from the rest of the plane is more dangerous than the old way... in some cases it definitely has caused problems leading to disaster... of course it has to be this way since 9-11 but makes you wonder...
@@bkgdnoize111 In aviation, safety is always the first priority. That said, sometimes it also comes with unintended consequences.
Why don't they just make some type of system to remotely override the plane in an emergency like this to take control of it, and see if they can land it?
Of course I'd be sad, but if I were Andreas' Father I'd also be incredibly proud of my son.
I’m crying right now.
I’ve seen this tragic story on another channel and it’s absolutely heart breaking 😢. God Bless the brave flight attendant who tried to save all souls on board. May God bless and keep all the victims, their families and loved ones. ✝️🙏🏻
Andreas remains a very brave young man. May he rest in peace.
I am reading the report and due to the long exposure to hypoxia, these people would’ve been in a non-reversible coma even if Andreas was able to land it.
Yeah definitely, the nature of this video makes it easy to gloss over, but they were up there for like, 3 hours. That’s a long time with that low oxygen.
The "last minute addition to the flight crew" was the biggest blessing possible in disguise. What an absolutely horrible situation; what an incredibly selfless person Andreas was.
My heart goes out go the loved ones of everyone on board, left behind to try and pick up the pieces of a shattered life. 🧡
What an unbelievably tragic situation. The world needs to hear this story! A true hero to the end.
My sympathy to all the families.
How depressing. Completely preventable. That flight attendant was incredibly brave, a good man who tried harder than billions have before.
This accident is one of the biggest examples of failure to adhere to SOP's and breakdown of CRM in aviation. Everyone who has ever sat on the right hand seat of a 737 knows that the DIFF PRESSURE and CABIN ALT gauge is checked at least twice before reaching cruising altitude, once right after takeoff and the other at 10,000 feet. It's also trained from day 1 to every 737 pilot that the first memory item to do is to don the oxygen mask when the Cabin Altitude Horn sounds. Boeing added two CABIN ALTITUDE warning lights to the main panel annunciators on new 737's after this accident to avoid any confusion in the future between cabin altitude and takeoff config warnings.
Yep, didn't do the checklists.
Complacency kills 😢
We need more people like this, trying to save people lives and risking their own life
It’s so unfortunate that the master warning isn’t more clear. There is a trillion bad things that can happen to any aircraft. If the warning said “Oxygen masks have been deployed.” or “Cabin depressurization.” They would’ve easily been able to fix the tweaked switch or climb to a safe altitude. Also I’m very curious what that brave person did for 3 hours straight..? As soon as you go into that cockpit as a person with real flight training/experience, shouldn’t you know to get down to a safe altitude. However very chilling story. None will ever forget that brave soul and those people who died a tragic but mostly silent death. (I also believe that brave man diverted the airplane to save many people from dying on the ground.)
If there was proof in the black boxes that he kept the jet from crashing into Athens, he should have gotten Greece’s version of the Medal of Honor. He couldn’t save his passengers or crew, but there may well be an Athens, a Parthenon, because of him. RIP....
forgive my naive question, if possible please answer, why didn't the captain/atc request emergency landing at nearby airport at 9:01? I mean if the problem is nothing seen in their thousands of hours of experience, or telling you its not ready to take off while you're on the air, and everyone's confused, it's a serious problem! Instead of being confused and asking to confirm so many times, just get to ground and have people look at it. I understand that taking off and landing a plane is very dangerous when no one knows what's going on but they should try to descent and see if additional issues pop up instead of keeping route.
I think the depressurization of the plane happened really quickly and too fast for them to think rationally. They were already feeling loopy and confused and quickly lost consciousness, way before the rest of the plane because they didn’t get oxygen masks.
Oh my. Oh my. One of the most tragic and also heroic stories I've ever heard of about air disasters. As an ICU nurse, I'm very, very familiar with what occurs in low oxygen states in people. Yes, they can't think coherently. They can't act in their own best interests. As their nurse, I've been responsible for recognizing when patients enter into a hypoxic state, and to help them as best as is medically possible. I've been trained to recognize the symptoms even when patients aren't necessarily hooked up to oxygen monitors: I can read their vital signs from our available instrumentation, I can act upon these vital signs to help them with oxygen administration . I know how to help people who are having these problems. But that's when I have proper equipment to help me. And I surely wouldn't have known what to do in a situation like this.. My heart breaks.. Had I been on this plane and had I been oxygen deprived, it's quite likely that I would not have been able to think clearly enough to help anyone at all. And yet the flight attendant did EVERYTHING he could have done under these circumstances. I honor him. And it is , in my perspective, perhaps a small consolation to the families of the victims, that indeed their loved ones were deeply asleep, probably comatose and didn't experience pain nor fear during the crash. I do understand that this doesn't take away anyone's losses, but I do hope to comfort those who suffered and help them realize that their loved ones were not in pain or fear when they passed. Nonetheless, it was a complete mistake, a complete waste of innocent human lives , and of course, I wish it hadn't happened...
It seems to me that despite the pressurization left on manual, the pilots should have picked that up on the ground while doing their check list...and turned the switch to auto....
Just curious, why wasn't this switch on takeoff checklist?
It is. Not only is it part of the pre-flight flow, the FO is supposed to check it twice once in the air, after takeoff and at 10,000 feet.
I know they are actors but that is a beautiful couple with a obvious attraction.
I always mention that I am from South Africa now I saw there is more subscribers who mentioned their country, and I think this is really very good it makes the opportunity see where every subscriber live it is amazing for me it makes it feel like we already knew each other. Greetings from South Africa Erica
This is the only air crash investigation which gave me chills down my spine.