The diary read July 10, 2002, when Cyprus woke up to the tragedy.
"A National Guard helicopter crashed this morning. All five occupants were killed. Among them was the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis ", was the first news broadcast by the Cyprus News Agency on the morning of July 10, 2002, a few hours after the fall of BELL 206 in Kouklia, resulting in deaths outside the Head of the Hellenic Armed Forces and the Commander of the Air Force, Brigadier General Stelios Demenegas, Lieutenant Commander Nikos Georgiou and the two pilots of the helicopter, Squadron Leader Paris Athanasiadis and Lieutenant Colonel Michalis Siakallis.
"This is the cost, it is the price that a people are called to pay a country when it fights for liberation", were the first words of the then Minister of Defense, Socrates Hasikou, officially announcing the fall of BELL 206, while a little later the then The President of the Republic of Cyprus, accompanied by the then Minister of Defense, Socrates Hasiko, by helicopter that took off from the Presidential Palace, had gone to the crash site of the National Guard helicopter that claimed the lives of the five officers.
Its course until the fall
The fatal helicopter had taken off from Lakatamia Airport in the direction of Paphos Air Base to monitor night training by the Chief of General Staff, which was none other than Mi-35 attack helicopters that had been secretly received in 2001 and presented for for the first time on the day of E. Florakis' funeral.
The helicopter they were riding in crashed under unclear circumstances after 4.20 p.m. of July 10, 2002, about two kilometers from the Paphos air base, in a ravine in the area of Diarizou, near the village of Kouklia.
Eyewitnesses said they saw a fire in the area of the fuselage, while the helicopter was still in the air.
Why the fatal BELL 206 fell
On 23/8/2002, a few days after the helicopter crash, the then Minister of Defense, Socrates Hasikos, announced the result of the finding regarding the investigation into the crash of the EF helicopter.
"The fire, which was caused by an unidentified cause, is due to the impact on the ground of the helicopter Bel 206, during which the occupants of the helicopter lost their lives," said Mr. Hasikos.
The study did not find any evidence of human error or exogenous factors (sabotage) that led to the accident.
Assisted by the Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Athanasios Nikolodimos and the Commander of the Air Force, Brigadier General Athanassiou, Mr. Hasikos said that the fire that broke out in the helicopter "resulted in the loss of control of the aircraft or because it was expanding." rods of the flight control system ”.
The commission of inquiry, which has a total of 33 pages, cites as possible "causes of the fire" the fuel leak in the helicopter due to breakage or failure of the material, the boat's fuel system (fuel tanks or heat pipes) with simultaneous existence. fuel system located inside the fuel tanks - the overheating of the friction of the assembly of the fuel booster pumps ”.
The defense minister had said that the helicopter's "main and tailgate" test "found that there was no malfunction during the flight and that they remained properly positioned on the helicopter and operated until the moment of the collision."
He also noted that from the condition of the engine, it is concluded that "there was no problem with the rotation of its main parts, before the collision, there was no fire inside or outside before the collision and that during the collision its speed was zero. or close to zero and therefore the engine was not running ”.
Mr Hasikos also referred to the location where the controls and the fuel switch were located and said that "if they are not a consequence of the collision, they indicate that the governor has taken the necessary initial landing actions with self-return".
Regarding the helicopter's fire extinguisher, YPAM said that "it was found empty and without its safety pin, within the wreckage of the helicopter and was forwarded by the committee for laboratory control".
He said: "It has not been possible to determine whether the fire extinguisher was used during the flight or was subsequently emptied due to the high temperature that developed during the ignition after the collision.
Regarding the possibility that the helicopter crash was due to sabotage, YPAM said that "no evidence has been found to support the existence of sabotage."
He said the commission's investigation found that "there was no helicopter explosion in the air by dispersing parts of it, as no parts of it were found outside the crash site".
An inspection of the wreckage by a pyrotechnician and an autopsy on the bodies of the occupants revealed that, according to Mr. Hasikos, no evidence had emerged that the helicopter had been hit by a machine gun.
Also, during the laboratory examination for the detection of explosive remnants carried out by the criminal service of the Police in collaboration with the State Chemistry, "no explosive material was detected".
YPAM also said that the recordings of the helicopter crew's conversations with the control towers of Paphos and Larnaca airports show that at 04:35 on July 10, at 10 nautical miles east of Paphos, "the flight unfolded without progress." any problem ”.
He added that 6 minutes later "there is a wireless emission on the approach frequency of Paphos Airport lasting about 4 seconds without a sound being detected".
Mr Hasikos said the radar images from the entire helicopter flight showed that at a distance of about 1 km before the helicopter's footprint was extinguished, "there was a sharp increase in speed estimated at more than 140 nautical miles, which exceeds the maximum speed limit of the helicopter, which confirms the abrupt sinking of the helicopter ”.
The testimonies of eyewitnesses, who were monitoring the flight behavior of the helicopter during the last stages of its flight, converge, according to the finding, to the finding that the helicopter had a fire in the air, in the area of the fuselage.
The existence of a fire, as Mr. Hasikos said, "is also confirmed by the forensic reports, according to which it is established that the occupants inhaled carbon monoxide from smoke fire before the collision".
The front pages of the newspapers the day after the tragedy
The tragic accident in Paphos with the crash of the military helicopter in which the Commander of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis, the Commander of the Air Force Stelios Demenagas and three other Cypriot officers, who were all on duty at the altar of duty, were killed. July 11, which extensively mentions the facts, the investigations to determine the causes and the possible versions as well as the biographies of the five dead.
Η "Truth" In the main issue entitled "To the Good General" she wrote that the heart of Cyprus was torn by the unexpected loss in time of duty of five selected members of the National Guard, with her own leader Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis being the first. In addition to the Commander of the National Guard, Brigadier General Stelios Demenagas, Lt. Gen. Stelios Demenagas, Lieutenant Colonel and two lieutenant captains of the Air Force, were on board the "Bel 206" helicopter that crashed in the "Hanna" area of the village of Kouklia. Paris and submarine Siakallis Michalis. Elsewhere, the newspaper writes that the Secretary-General of the United Nations did not finally cross Larnaca Airport, as was announced the day before yesterday.
Η "Battle" with the question mark "Why my God?" referred to the tragic loss of the Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard along with his four associates and officers during an ordered mission. Elsewhere, the newspaper writes that the loss of Evangelos Florakis and the vacuum created in the hierarchy are forcing the government to proceed with the election and appointment of a new leader of the National Guard. Lieutenant General Manousos Paragioudakis seems to be a possible replacement for Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis. According to the newspaper, the appointment of the new Chief of the National Guard is expected to take place today or tomorrow.
Ο "Citizen" The main topic under the headline "The sacrifice that should not have been" wrote that more light on the causes of the crash of the National Guard helicopter that resulted in the loss of its Chief and four other officers is expected to be thrown by Greek experts who arrived last night in Cyprus. Elsewhere, the newspaper reports that the version of the accident seems to converge so far on the tragic incident and that the Minister of Defense Socrates Hasikos confirmed that there is no power vacuum in the National Guard.
"OR Today's"They rule out sabotage" was the headline in the history of the tragic events, noting that from the first indications, according to military sources, the possibility of sabotage seems to be ruled out at first sight and that President Clerides stated that the helicopter appears to have capsized. during its landing. The newspaper pays tribute to EF Leader Evangelos Florakis under the title "The eagle dies in the air". Elsewhere he notes that the occupying leader Rauf Denktash claims that he failed in the talks, because, as he stated, he did not convince either Mr. de Soto or the United Nations that the impossibility of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem is due to the good diagnosis of the problem.
"THE LiberalHe wrote in the main article entitled "The EF was orphaned" that it was the strongest blow to the National Guard since 1974 and that from the first moment it signaled an alarm and the communications with Athens "lit up". A political decision in both capitals is that the replacement of Evangelos Florakis must be made immediately so that the image of suspensions is not given in any case. He writes that Greek experts arrived last night to investigate the causes of the helicopter crash. Specialists also come from the manufacturer of the helicopter Bell, American Textron, as well as experts from the Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer. Elsewhere, he notes that on August 4, all the Synod members are expected to work together for the first time, unless Metropolitan Kyrenia Pavlos is absent, who does not yet recognize Kykkos Nikiforos, claiming that his promotion to Bishop is a substitute.
The "DawnWith the headline "Cyprus mourns" said that Cyprus mourns the unjust loss of five select men of the National Guard. The political leaderships of Cyprus and Greece expressed shock and sadness yesterday with their statements, while parties and organizations with their announcements underline the great loss for the National Guard and the whole of Cyprus. "Mechanical damage and darkness" are the first versions of the helicopter crash, the newspaper writes. Elsewhere, he noted that Danish Foreign Minister and EU Council President Per Stig Moller reiterated yesterday before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee that a solution to the Cyprus problem is desirable but not a precondition for the island's accession to the EU.
English "Cyprus MailHe wrote in the main article entitled "Investigation into the plane crash that killed Florakis" that Greeks arrived on the island tonight to take part in the investigation into yesterday's helicopter crash near Paphos, which resulted in the death of the Chief of the Armed Forces, the Commander of the Air Force and three other army officers. Elsewhere, the newspaper notes that investors in the Stock Exchange yesterday expressed concern about the decision of the Supreme Court in favor of a private company that withholds investors' money.
The ironic comments of the nationalist "Volkan" and the headlines of the Turkish Press about the tragedy
Η “Africa"Refers to the crash of the helicopter under the front page headline" The Commander of the National Guard is dead in an accident from a helicopter crash ". In a headline, he states that "Southern Cyprus woke up yesterday with mourning marches".
Η "Birlik" In a statement, she said: "Three days of mourning in the South after the accident in which the Chief of Staff and the Commander of the Air Force were killed."
On the front page the newspaper "Ortam" He wrote: “A helicopter crashed in the south. Five dead. "
The nationalist newspaper "Volkan" also reported on the accident under the headline "The curse is not lost" and the title "They burned like a candle". The newspaper reports that "before being killed, the General stated that his goal was to raise the Greek flag on the Pentadactyl and drink Turkish blood in Kyrenia".
In one of its subtitles the "Volcano" He wrote "how Florakis dreamed of occupying Kyrenia with such an army and helicopters".
Source: Offsite