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*Our representation of clients in these
cases has been by Lieff Global attorneys while at Lieff Global
or prior to their joining our firm.
Helios Airways Flight HCY 522 Boeing 737 Crash
Summary of Accident
On August 14, 2005, Helios Airways flight
HCY 522, heading from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens International
Airport, crashed north of Athens, resulting in the loss of
all passengers and crew. Reports said the pilots were unconscious
when the plane went down, possibly because of a lack of oxygen
in the cabin due to decompression.
The Boeing Corporation 737,
with 115 passengers and six crew members aboard, was due to
fly onto Prague, Czech Republic after stopping in Athens. Two
F-16 fighter jets were scrambled shortly after the plane entered
Greek air space over the Aegean Sea and did not respond to
radio calls.
Lieff Global, in cooperation
with the Cyprus law firm Phoebus, Christos Clerides,
N. Pirilides & Associates, of Nicosia and Limassol,
on behalf of families of victims of the crash of
Helios Flight 522, filed a lawsuit on February
21, 2006 against The Boeing Company in United States
District Court in Chicago, Illinois.
The investigation of the
crash of the Helios Airways Flight 522 has reportedly
found that the pressurization system on the plane
was not properly configured by the pilots at the
time the aircraft took off from Larnaca, Cyprus.
However, Robert L. Lieff, founding partner of the
American law firms Lieff Global and Lieff Cabraser,
explained that "while there appears to have
been negligence on the part of the Helios pilots,
Boeing was also negligent and shares responsibility
for the passengers’ deaths."
Christos Clerides, whose
firm will spearhead efforts to prosecute claims
against Helios itself, is working in partnership
with Lieff Global in representing the families
in pursuing Boeing and any other U.S. manufacturers
who may have contributed to the accident. Mr. Clerides
stated, “I am very pleased to take this step
forward in achieving justice for my clients. We
intend to make sure that no responsible party escapes
accountability for this horrible tragedy.”
Hans-Peter Graf, a former
airline commander and investigator in charge at
the Swiss Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau
who specializes in flight operation and human factors,
has been retained by Lieff Global to work on this
case.
Mr. Graf commented, “The
checklists that Boeing composed and recommended
for the 737 aircraft made it easy for crews to
take off and fly with the pressurization system
set incorrectly. The alerts and warnings given
to the crew were inexcusably vague and late. The
design and implementation of a superior system
would have cost a minimal amount. Thus, I am firmly
convinced that Boeing and its partners played a
substantial role in this crash, and they could
have prevented it with a proper design of the crew
alerting system.”
Families whose
loved ones died in the Helios Airways
disaster are welcome to contact
a lawyer at Lieff Global to
learn more about their legal rights.
We welcome the opportunity to answer
your questions free of charge, without
obligation and in strict confidence.
The complaint alleges that a series
of design defects in the Boeing 737-300 led to the pilots’ failure
to understand the nature of the problems they were facing.
Foremost among these was that the pressurization warning “horn” on
the Boeing 737-300 emits the same sound used to alert pilots
about improper takeoff and landing configurations.
The pilots’ confusion was compounded
by the fact that the very danger being warned of – low
cabin air pressure – impairs cognitive functions. “If
you are warning about a dangerous condition that impairs a
pilot’s ability to think, it is common sense that you
make that warning as clear as possible, and Boeing did not
do that,” commented Robert L. Lieff.
The complaint also alleges that two
years before the Helios accident, in 2003, Boeing communicated
to 737 operators that “flight crews may not recognize
the [aircraft pressurization failure] horn as an alert of excessive
cabin altitude.”
Yet, commented Robert L. Lieff, “Boeing
took no corrective action in response to this potential safety
hazard other than ask 737 operators to revise their manuals.
Boeing could have eliminated the confusion from multiple uses
of the same horn by using a vocal warning or a unique horn,
through an inexpensive modification to the 737 pressurization
warning system.”
Contact Lieff Global
Families whose loved ones died in this
crash are welcome to contact Lieff Global to learn more about
their legal rights without any charge or obligation. Please send
us an e-mail message. Alternatively, you may telephone
us toll-free at 1-800-541-7358 in the U.S., or 1-415-788-8000
from outside the U.S., and request to speak to aviation law attorney Lexi Hazam.
About Lieff Global
Lieff Global, LLP, is an AV-rated law
firm with offices in San Francisco and New York, and affiliate
offices worldwide. Our representation has included both Americans
and people residing in Europe and Asia in aviation lawsuits
filed worldwide.
Lieff Global is uniquely positioned
to answer your questions and represent your interests. Our
attorneys have over forty years of experience litigating airplane
crash cases worldwide. We have relationships with the foremost
experts in the fields of aviation safety and disaster analysis.
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