5 defendants charged in Cyprus plane crash trial

— Cypriot prosecutors formally charged five defendants Thursday during a trial over the crash of an airliner in Greece nearly four years ago.

The defendants are Helios Airways former chief executive Andreas Drakos, managing director Demetris Pantazis, chief pilot Ianko Stoimenov, operations director George Kikides, and the Cypriot airline as a legal entity.

They did not enter pleas and the trial was adjourned until June 4.

The Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 crashed into a hillside north of Athens in August 2005, killing all 121 people on board. It had been on a flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to the Greek capital.

Defense lawyer Demetris Araouzos said the defendants were each charged with 119 counts of manslaughter and an equal number of charges of causing death by recklessness.

The charges stem from the prosecution's contention that human error was to blame for the crash and that the defendants knowingly hired "unsuitable and inadequate" pilots. The charges are for the 119 passengers and crew, excluding the two pilots.


