Helicopter crash on Sifnos: Pilot and newlywed British couple killed

Pilot George Raikos, 53, was the operator of the fatal helicopter, while Alexander Cromie, 31, and Marie Ebert, 30, a newlywed couple from Britain who had chosen Sifnos for their honeymoon, also lost their lives in the accident.

The video under scrutiny
Experts are now analyzing the data of the fatal flight and every possible factor that may have contributed to the loss of control of the helicopter. The video document that recorded the fatal moment, as well as the testimonies about what preceded the crash, in the crucial seconds before the crash, near the island's heliport, in the area of ​​Exambela, is considered of decisive importance.

The video shows the helicopter starting to rotate in the air shortly before its crash, an element that has drawn the attention of experts to the possibility of loss of function of the tail rotor.

As was announced yesterday, the National Organization for the Investigation of Air and Railway Accidents and Transport Safety (EODASAAM) is expected to investigate the causes of the accident.

What experts say about the helicopter crash
According to what aeronautical engineer and aircraft accident investigator Phaedon Karaiosifidis reported this morning on "Society Hour Mega", all possibilities remain open, however one of the main scenarios being examined is a catastrophic failure or a rapidly evolving failure, which may have deprived the pilot of the ability to control the helicopter.

Explaining the operation of the helicopter, he noted: "A helicopter, without going into technical details, flies for a reason. Because there is a rotor on top with wings. Its rotation creates lift and keeps the helicopter in the air. The rotor is compensated by a smaller rotor at the rear, which also gives the pilot directional control, otherwise the helicopter would spin around itself.”

According to Mr. Karaiosifidis, “from the picture available so far, it appears that, before the helicopter started spinning around its axis, a problem had already occurred. Despite the pilot’s efforts, which appear to have been made to deal with the situation, it was not possible to make an emergency landing.”

“Catastrophic failure or mechanical failure and loss of control are currently the dominant scenario,” he said, noting, however, that no possibility can be ruled out, including the human factor.

Frangoulis: Mechanical failure or sudden health problem

Air accident expert and former Army Air Force pilot Pantelis Frangoulis expressed his own assessment of the possible causes of the crash in Sifnos, speaking to ERT and the show "Connections".

According to him, among the possibilities being examined is a possible mechanical failure in the tail section of the helicopter, but also a sudden health problem of the pilot.

Mr. Frangoulis emphasized that the investigation is at an early stage and a full analysis of all available data is required in order to draw safe conclusions about the causes of the tragedy.

Commenting on the video of the helicopter's course shortly before the crash, he focused in particular on its sharp turn to the right during the approach to the helipad. As he explained, this particular element could be linked to a disruption in the operation of the tail section of the helicopter, pointing out the possibility of mechanical damage to the system connected to the tail wing.

Of particular importance, according to him, will be to determine whether any damage, observation by a previous pilot or maintenance work on this particular section of the helicopter had been recorded in the previous days.