Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes near Grammatiko, killing 121

7 articles · Updated · Popular Mechanics · May 7

The Boeing 737 left Larnaca on 14 August 2005 with its pressurization system set to manual, and crew missed the error during checks.
As hypoxia incapacitated pilots and passengers, the aircraft flew on autopilot over Athens for more than an hour before both engines flamed out and it fell into nearby hills.
Greek F-16s intercepted the jet and saw a flight attendant trying to help, but too late. The disaster later prompted Boeing 737 warning changes, lawsuits and Helios's 2006 collapse.

Two decades after the Helios 'ghost flight', are pilots truly safer from deadly human error or just facing more complex automation?

Can advanced hypoxia simulators truly prepare pilots for the silent, cognitive betrayal that brought down Helios Flight 522?