Greece responded with a double visit to Serbia and Ukraine, for the fact that they had not informed the Greek authorities about the ammunition carried by the fatal Antonov. – What is considered most likely to have happened?
The experts are looking for the causes that led to the fall of the fatal Antonov, having now at their disposal the black box of the aircraft which the pyrotechnicians found in the wreckage. The residents of the area still cannot recover from the shock of what they experienced, with Athens marching today on a double protest march in Serbia and Ukraine demanding an explanation for the fact that the Greek authorities had not been informed about the dangerous cargo it was carrying.
By order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, first the ambassador of Greece in Belgrade, and a few hours later, the general secretary of the ministry to the Ukrainian ambassador in Athens, asked for an explanation for the lack of information from the Greek side, about the nature of the cargo of the aircraft .
THE SKAI found at the crash site. At about 100 meters the police have closed the road, in the background are fire brigades. At this moment, men of the Greek army are operating.
According to the official announcement of the civil aviation:
- At 21.40 on Saturday night, the Ukrainian-registered Antonov takes off from Constantine the Great Airport in Nis, Serbia.
- 29 minutes later, it enters Greek airspace.
- At 22:37 the first contact is made with the Control Center of the Athens-Macedonia region.
- “Due to a problem I am not continuing to the final destination. I am returning to Nice airport.”
- 5 minutes later and while the aircraft is east of Halkidiki, it sends a distress signal to air traffic controllers.
- “Mayday, fire in engine 4”.
“Suddenly I feel the house shake.. where is this plane falling? It’s probably on fire in the village, it will fall”says a resident of Antiphilippi
The Civil Aviation Service declares a state of emergency. At 22:45 the Antonov communicates with the Control Tower in Kavala.
“Notifying that I am attempting an emergency landing”. Landing permission for Chrysoupolis airport is immediately given.
At that moment, it is recorded by a camera that he has lost height and a few seconds later, he crashes.
At 22:47, the aircraft is lost from radar.
The first to arrive at the scene is Dimitris Davonas, who sees the Antonov on fire from end to end.
“A shapeless mass, a piece of sheet metal blue in color.. and a huge pile of wires, we got very close from behind it had a huge drag”notes the resident of Antifilippi, Dimitris Davonas.
Almost 24 hours after the fall of the Antonov, all 8 bodies of the crew – all Ukrainians – who died instantly, were recovered. They were taken to Komotini where the autopsy will be performed.
According to information from SKAI, the bodies of the 8 members of Antonov’s crew were transferred to the forensic service of Thrace in good condition given the circumstances of the accident. A fact that facilitates their identification.
“They’re not completely destroyed now we’re just waiting for forensics to take fingerprints”said the Medical Examiner, Nikolaos Kifnidis.
Firefighters who thoroughly investigated the crash site also located the plane’s black box, which the Aviation Safety and Accident Investigation Board has taken and is sending to the Ukrainian company Meridian, which makes the Antonov jets, to find answers.
“One of the 2 black boxes – red boxes actually – has been found, we need to see if the data recorded is in a usable form,” he told SKAI and the show Mismatches the Governor of Civil Aviation, Grigoris Konstandelos.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Serbia, the recipient of the 11.5 tons of ammunition was the Bangladesh Armed Forces, which last night confirmed that it was training material.
The chronicle of the tragedy in detail
21:40 (Serbia – City of Nis)
“Megas Konstantinos” Airport
22:09
It enters the Greek FIR
22:37
Antonov pilot to Athens-Macedonia Area Control Center
“Due to a problem I am not continuing to the final destination. I am returning to Nice airport.”
22:42 (east of Halkidiki)
Antonov Pilot to Air Traffic Controllers
“Mayday, fire in engine 4”.
22:45
Antonov pilot to Kavala Control Tower
“I am reporting that I am attempting an emergency landing.”
22:47
The aircraft is lost to radar.
What are the authorities looking at?
Under the microscope of the authorities are the videos of the last dramatic seconds, with the Antonov burning in the sky and crashing.
The plane could have landed five minutes earlier before it crashed in Kavala, he said mayor of Voula – Vari – Vouliagmeni and acting commander of the Civil Aviation, Grigoris Konstandelos.
The main scenarios that experts investigate are:
- The fire with the loss of 2 engines
- Multiple organ loss that caused the loss of height
- Lack of oil which may have caused the fire
- The fire protection system was not activated
In the fire that occurred, the fire extinguishers either did not work, or were unable to put out the fire, as a result of which it spread to the other engine, so the aircraft went down in flames, noted the Konstantinos Iatridis, vice-captain e.a.
It is possible that the pilot of the Antonov initially thought that the damage to the aircraft was under control and therefore asked to return to Serbia, but within minutes the situation deteriorated dramatically.
The plane at 22:37 declared that it was returning back to Serbia, made a U-turn, started to return to Serbia, but five minutes later, the situation that existed escalated. That is, if the fire went out and came back, he requested an emergency landing in Kavala, he stressed, speaking to SKAI, the aeronautical engineer, Phaedon Karaiosifidis.
There is even the case that the fire was not only external but also internal, with the result that fumes were created from the smoke and the operators did not have time to put on a mask and pass outnoted Mr. Iatridis.
And here a number of questions arise about the actions of the pilot:
The unanswered questions
- – What damage did he face?
- – Why did you initially want to return to Serbia?
- – Why didn’t he go to the nearest airport of Lemnos?
- – Why was contact with the control tower lost for 2 minutes?
As mentioned by Mr. Kostandelos, the fact that instead of going to Lemnos, a distance of 32 miles above the sea and a flight of six minutes, the pilot chose to go to Chrysoupolis of Kavala, passing over a large mountain mass, that of Pangaios, raises questions. on a flight of twice the time. From the moment he broadcasts may day, the pilot chooses which airport to land at.
It is worth noting that in the last 35 years, 249 Antonov aircraft have crashed out of the 1200 that entered the production line.
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