A helicopter crashed yesterday in the Tholos area of Sifnos, near a residential area, killing three people.
The victims were a British couple on their honeymoon and the pilot of the Bell helicopter. According to media reports, the pilot was a retired Army Aviation officer with extensive experience and many hours of flight time on military helicopters.
He had joined Bellavia Aviation Services, the company that operated the chartered helicopter, two months earlier.
The helicopter departed from Markopoulo, Attica, for Sifnos and crashed just 30 metres from the island’s helipad.
Video footage shows the helicopter appearing to fly out of control before crashing seconds later, exploding and catching fire.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by Greece’s National Organisation for the Investigation of Air and Rail Accidents and Transport Safety (EODASAAM). Investigators are examining whether the helicopter may have lost its tail rotor before the crash.
Aviation accident expert and former Army Aviation pilot Pantelis Fragoulis told ERTnews that investigators will also examine whether any technical problems had been reported in the days before the crash.
