Hello all, I did my very best to ensure that this story was told in a respectful and accurate way, and you can find all sources in a public post over on my Patreon: bit.ly/39RFEqd. That said, I’m not a pilot, and I don’t speak Greek, so I’ve relied on people to translate technical info/a whole other language. If anything doesn’t seem quite right, let me know, and I can always add any major corrections here. I'd be interested to hear your theories on Andreas - I know that this is a horrific situation to be in, and we will never, EVER know what he was dealing with up there, but for the life of me I still can't understand why he didn't enter the cockpit until the last moments given that he a) had oxygen, b) had the access code? The ONLY thing I can imagine is that he somehow incapacitated himself but even still, one of the oxygen canisters wasn't used so it just doesn't make sense to me.

I feel bad for the F-16 pilot who witnessed the crash. From the recording, you can tell how horrified he is.

That flight attendant was a hero. He fought through barely being conscious and tried his best to save everyone. Unfortunately heroes don’t always succeed RIP flight 522

It may be apparent to some - but likely not all who don't speak Greek. The fighter pilot calling out the mayday and describing the last moments before impact was most definitely crying and trying to hold back tears. He was fumbling just ever so slightly in his wording of what was going on. Poor guy, he really really was distraught.

The fighter pilot’s voice crack made me cry, I can’t imagine having to watch this slowly unfold while you’re helpless from another plane

I will never complain about a flight being late for take-off ever again. It's moments like these when you really have to respect the care and attention that your pilots give before, during, and after your flight.

As a pilot I can say there is no excuse for what happened. They should have already known that a cabin pressurization test had been performed, so verifying that the pressurization switch was in the auto mode should have been a no brainer. Secondly, as soon as the alarm sounded, they should have not made assumptions as to what caused the alarm, but realized what the actual reason for the alarm was. As for the maintenance person that performed the pressurization test, he should have returned it to the auto mode. If the pilots had performed a proper preflight check this never would have happened.

I'm Greek and when this happened the entire country froze in horror. Andreas is a hero in our hearts and will always be. May they all rest in peace. I just hope no one suffered.

Shout out to Andreas who even when suffering from Hypoxia and barely conscious still tried to save everyone. And that poor pilot, who’s voice cracked made me cry

Perhaps it was exactly the amount of experience they had that led to their demise. After hundreds of flights, complacency becomes the biggest danger of them all.

Those F-16 pilots WATCHED a passenger jet crash. What a heavy, heavy thing to witness. Also this channel is amazing, please keep making content.

Andreas is the most heroic figure in this story. He may not have succeeded in saving everyone, but the strength and bravery to lift himself up when he must have been getting weaker and more disoriented by the moment and still try is far from nothing

I was serving my military duty (which is mandatory in Greece) in 2005 and I was stationed at the airbase those F16s were scrambled from.I was on duty that day and remember even today the comotion during those tragic moments.When the pilots came back they were inside a room to debrief and provide information on what they had witnessed.they stayed there for hours.late at night me and a colleague brought food to the pilots and other hellenic air force officers in the room along wih some beverages.I ve only had a 2 second glimpse on the pilots before being pushed out of the room but that look they had and that eyes still haunt me today

It’s astounding how many chances the pilots had to fix this error before it became fatal, and failed to each time

Poor Andreas! He joined the crew the last minute and was the last to be conscious. While everyone else was spared the minutes before the crash, he was witness to the entire horror.

The helpless terror of the F-16 pilots as they watched the disaster unfold was absolutely heartbreaking.

God, I remember this. I live in Athens. I was home alone when this happened, a very scared teenager, who knew way too much about airplane crashes due to my father, a retired air force officer who had survived a horrific one. My area was right in the path of the plane. It was awful, not knowing if the plane was going to come down right on top of us. My parents, out of town, racing to come home in case of the worst. When they got home it was after the plane had crashed, just 10 klm away from where I live. My parents crushed me in a hug and my father was crying. He never cried like that. My father was very broken up about the whole thing. It took him a long time to get over it. He saw himself in Andreas and in the pilots and the passengers. It woke up painful memories for him. He became very invested in the accident and reached out to all contacts he had for information. I learned a lot about the early stages of the investigation through this grapevine of military folks. We met one of the F-16 pilots of that day by chance, years later. The accident came up in conversation. The poor guy was still affected, I can only imagine how horrified he must have been up there, watching it happen helplessly. I was very relieved to see that he was doing alright and had likely gotten some much-needed help. My heart went out to Andreas when I read about what he did. Some part of me is certain that he saved my life, my home, and those of other people living in my area. We were right in the original path of the plane. If he hadn't been there, the plane might have slammed right into our mountainside. Who knows how many more could have died. Thank you for covering this so seriously and somberly. Thank you for not turning it into a sensationalist piece. Your work is incredible.

There is something oddly terrifying (in a sci-fi horror / psychological thriller kind of way) thinking about an airplane flying itself for so long while everyone inside is dead. It's just it's a strange feeling to think about.

I just started crying when the F-16 pilot voice cracked ...and Andrea's trying to save, either the plane or choosing a safe crash site so no more ppl would be hurt. I live In Cyprus and was a teenager when this happened...it was and still is an awful tragedy

This is TV level content. I’m extremely impressed at how well you were able to tell this story.

I cried when they showed photos of the victims. My wife's dad died in a plane crash years ago. She hasn't been the same since. This kind of tragedy destroys more lives than those taken on the flight.

God only knows what went through Andreas' mind when he realised he was the ONLY one moving on that plane..true horror. Some people suffer such tragic fates..

At the start of the video I thought to myself “I bet that ground engineer feels awful for turning that switch” but after seeing how many procedural mistakes the pilots made I don’t blame dude in the slightest. This was 100% on the pilots.

this is truly the most horrifying story of a plane crash I've ever heard. nothing is more terrifying than human error in a time where your life is dependent on someone else's choices

Last month I was on the Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore back home to Ahmedabad, India. We boarded and were told they would be a delay due to a "technical difficulty" with the aircraft. We were deplaned after about 45 minutes and told they would switch the aircraft. Eventually the flight took off 2.5 hours later, on what was presumably a different aircraft. It might have been nothing, could have been something. Nevertheless I appreciate Singapore Airlines and the entire crew for switching the plane.

Andrea likely being the only one awake on that plane at the time of the crash was just wow. I’ve gotten pretty hardened emotionally from listened listen to a bunch of true crime and these types of videos but when it said someone was awake, and they said Andrea was aware enough to both acknowledge the pilot and later said he said mayday onto the radio brought me to tears.

I'm guessing that Andreas might have regained consciousness when the plane reached a breathable altitude again and was able to reach the oxygen? It's hard to say, but it's incredibly tragic that there was absolutely nothing he could've done at that point. He is still a hero in my book.

I learned about this on my cabin crew course... such a sad tragedy. I can't believe Andreas was able to walk around the cabin even with the effects of hypoxia, that's crazy... waking up to the entire cabin unconscious and quiet save for the alarms blaring must've been horrifying. aircrew should NEVER assume an alarm or something going wrong inside the plane is just a blare or defect.

Andreas broke my heart.. that poor guy. He was the last conscious person left, and tried to save everyone. It failed.. but he’s still a hero. I hope he and the others aboard the plane (except for the idiot that got fired and somehow still worked as a pilot) are resting in peace..

That poor F-16 pilot must have been absolutely devastated, feeling so helpless and just having to watch it all

There's so many preventable aspects of this horrible tragedy but the the worst part is at 7:30. Even if they somehow arrive at the conclusion that this is a glitch (after they missed the item on two separate checklists), every pilot learns to don their oxygen mask IMMEDIATELY when they hear that sound. Even if it had to be a glitch for some reason, they needed to put on their oxygen masks and then check their instruments and figure everything out. There's no excuse for this except possibly poor training.

I actually feel so bad for the F-16 Pilot's who has to watch the passenger planes crash into the ground knowing there's nothing they can do... They'll never forget the sight of that crash...

For some reason, every single time I hear the sounds of the audible plane warnings as the plane is about to crash ( 16:25 ), my eyes tear up and I have this feeling of deep helplessness in me. I have heard it on a previous KZfaq video of a similar crash as well, and it has to be one of the scariest sounds I have ever heard. The fact that the flight attendant would have had to listen to the warnings, knowing he could do nothing, knowing that death is inevitable, it is truly terrifying... Rest in peace, to everyone who lost their lives that day.

I feel so bad for the flight attendant, I’m assuming he passed out then woke back up and just was trying to get the plane down to live but could barely breathe, Then the pilots having to witness that.. Horror.

17:57 gave me the chills !! You can hear the ditress and fear in the pilots voice when he saw the plane crash. What a amazing video !! Had me engaged the whole time.

Listening to the F 16 Pilot helplessly yell Mayday as his voice cracked was heartbreaking.

Family from our town in Cyprus was on that flight. A mother, father and their young daughter. At the last moment, their young son said he wanted to stay with his grandparents. So the parents permitted him to. Now their house stands empty for the boy when he grows up. The grandparents still regularly tend to the gardens. 😞 My family and I flew back to London on this day. I remember hearing the news as we were waiting to leave for the airport. Very scary when something is close to home.

you guys should do the sewol ferry tragedy. this was about the sinking of MV sewol, a bunch of sophomore students who went on a trip from the route incheon to jeju in south korea, the boat began to tilt to the side. over 300 people died on that day the ferry sank. It's absolutely dreadful and so sad to hear about, when there were rescue divers going in to retrieve the bodies, they found two students whose hands were tied together, and later found out that they were a couple, who wanted to at least pass together. Absolutely heart breaking.

This story was very well told, and the narrator has a beautiful voice! More than one airplane crash has been caused by pilots rushing through safety procedures because of their schedules…

This accident is so terrifying to me, much more than other plane crashes. Just the idea of a ghost flight going up and round with all these unconscious people inside, and then just one person being awake and desperately trying to do something but failing, while the two f16 pilots watched without being able to do anything... the voice of the f16 pilot breaking, the last sounds that andreas hear being those plane warnings, idk it's all just so chilling. the sequence of errors here is just insane, how could the pilots continually ignore so many warnings... like it was so tragically preventable

If something as simple as a misturned switch can take down a plane, you think they'd design it in a way that the plane wouldn't be able to take off if the switch is in the wrong position.

I've watched this video a few times now, and every single time I tear up hearing that F-16 pilot's voice crack as he shouts "Mayday Mayday!" What a heart breaking story. Thank goodness incidences like this are rare, but it's still very scary to think about how one little mistake can ruin so many lives.

That cracking and stuttering in the F-16 pilot's voice is what broke me and made the tear dam break. I was already fighting the lump in my throat at hearing what Andreas that beautiful, brave, heroic man would have heard in his final moments. But the utter despair and grief in that pilot's voice was heart-wrenching. I can't imagine the trauma of watching that unfold in front of you and being completely powerless to stop it. The smallest, tiniest mercy is that the passengers were asleep and were killed instantly. They didn't have to experience that crippling dread of knowing they were doomed, watching the ground rapidly come closer and closer. Mercifully, those inmocent people would have been oblivious and dreaming and never felt the pain and terror. Andreas was truly a courageous and admirable person, I'm sure his family through the grief felt such pride and love for him for trying so, so hard to save that plane.

My daughter told me about this video, so as an aviation geek, I instantly took a look - I told my daughter it was the one about hypoxia, & she was completely unsurprised by my instant recognition 👌 The Cockpit Voice Recorder would have only had the last 60-30 minutes of recording, but the Flight Data Recorder will have kept the data for the entire flight. The tragedy of this is that if they had figured out that the cabin was not pressurising & requested to descend below 10,000ft everyone would have come round & they could have worked it out & got to the ground safely. I remember being angry when I heard this because it was so needless & avoidable. Thank you for covering it so sensitively ❤

Gosh, what an absolutely horrific event. I so feel for Andreas... to be in that weakened and confused state desperately trying to guide the plane to safety. It sounds truly nightmarish - knowing you and everyone else is in danger and trying to fight against your brain shutting down in order to save lives. That poor guy. And those fighter pilots watching this all unfold while unable to do anything to stop it. The whole thing is just awful. RIP to those who died and I hope all those who witnessed this tragedy find peace.

Sometimes having too much experience isn't a good thing. It makes people cut corners and get sloppy. How tragic and as horrible as it is to say, it's good that most of the passengers were unconcious. My heart goes out to the families, and to the fighter pilots and ground crew who must have felt so much hopeless desperation.

I don't usually tear up or cry for tragedies, usually they fascinate me and hurt my heart more than anything. But this one had me sobbing, the sounds of the plane warning that it was approaching terrain, the panic in the fighter pilot's voice, the smoke billowing from the wreckage. All of it is soul crushing. Bless every soul lost that day.

That is absolutely heartbreaking. Thinking about the panic that flight attendant must’ve been feeling trying his best to weakly salvage the plane to safety… chilling.

Can't imagine what the F -16 pilots and controller went through in those moments. I had tears in my eyes listening to them witness the plane crash. Thank you for covering this incident, I would love to see more videos from this channel!

No way the dispatcher was just talking to the pilots and when they asked about the pressurization module they go silent. How tragic

I've read about this flight, and what caused its demise, many times. However this is the first time I've heard the CVR of the F-16 pilots watching the crash happen in real time. The raw emotion in his voice was pretty haunting, and I especially feel for him.

What's so heartbreaking about this is the chief steward had a pilot's licence and his own oxygen supply, but the very security measures put in place after 9/11 to try and prevent further tragedies meant he couldn't get into the cockpit until it was too late...

I've seen a lot of videos on this crash but I'd never heard the recordings before. The absolute fear in the F-16 pilot's voice as he says "Mayday mayday" is heartbreaking. I hope he got counseling, too. I can imagine the amount of ptsd from something like this would be intense.

I was on a different plane at the same airport that day. I was staring at that plane as it took off while in my seat waiting for mine to take off. It was surreal. My phone was going crazy once I landed back in London everyone didn't know if that was the plane I was on with my dad. Very shocking to watch the news once I got back.

Hard to believe this was 18 yrs ago. I flew Helios with my family the year before this happened, I would have only been 13. We all recall there being something wrong with the air circulation on the flight. Never found out what plane we were on but none of us would be surprised if it was the same one.

I listen to your videos while working my overnight shifts. Your editing, narration, tone of respect towards the events and people involved are always top notch. I think the best thing about your videos is that the real horror isn't humanity's cruelty towards each other but humanity's sheer helplessness in the face of things beyond their control and it's something I really enjoy about the series of events you've chosen to cover thus far. I am looking forwards towards more of your work. No pressure to rush, though. Please have a great day. ❤

I was on the very next flight from Helios after this crash . Everyone was telling me don't take the flight but I still did on the basis of lightning never strikes twice . Although to be honest with you I've never been so scared in all my life , not just me but all the passengers , you could've cut the atmospher inside the plane with a knife it was so intense .

Absolutely disgusting pilots, their arrogance with the pre flight checklist caused the death and horrible crash. This story makes me sick.

Wow what a tragedy. I get that some feel that justice has not been served but the pilots we’re just as much at fault for not completing their check list and ignoring all warnings. As a pilot, you cannot make a mistake like that.

KZfaq threw one of your videos at me when I didn’t have a playlist on and I figured this was a tv show the team or someone had uploaded. These have all felt professionally made and well researched, thanks for being as respectful and honest as possible.

This channel is criminally underrated. The content, editing and narration is just top tier. I've just finished watching all three videos in one go. Subscribed and excited to see what topic will be covered in future videos!

Absolutely heartbreaking hearing the F-16 pilot watching the crash. The only blessing here is that all of those innocent people were unconcious when the plane crashed. What a horrible incident this was, and so avoidable.

I believe this is a perfect example of the butterfly effect, small changes to a system will eventually overcome leading to inherit improbability such as a crash. My deepest condolences to all of the survivors of this tragic crash and may this serve as a reminder that checklists are something to be taken seriously every time. There is no shortcut to safety, especially when your life is on the line. 😢

Stumbled on this video and channel going down an (for me, at least) ill-advised rabbit hole into tragic, haunting CVR audio and also tragic incidents like this. Dear god, the recording of that one fighter pilot witnessing the horror unfolding before his eyes, it's just too much. Truly one of the most inexplicable and tragic crashes I can think of. Great work all around, (and much easier for me to handle as there is a voice to cut through the deafening silence...) subscribed.

They criticize the pilots for rushing through check lists, but I'm going to guess that their industry is just like mine, where you're told to do everything in the checklist, but also get it done impossibly fast. You'll get fired for taking too long before you get fired for skipping checklist items.

God, that part of the audio that Andreas would've heard in his last moments... It made me sick to my stomach, my eyes teared up. As potentially the only person aware of what was happening, I can't even imagine the feeling of helplessness he would've experienced. I can only hope hypoxia saved most of the victims from the fear of knowing that you'll die at any moment.

This video is so well put together. The editing and tone is perfect and the story telling is complex yet expertly told. Honestly, I’m not into aviation or anything but this gripped me. The V/O is also spot on! Well done all of you! I’m not sure how I feel after this. In some ways it infuriates me that the two pilots couldn’t instinctively see what the problem is. Yet, at the same time, like when we all scream the answer to the tv when a contestant doesn’t know the answer to something so easy. Sometimes, a whole host of seemingly obvious decisions and actions become invisible. Like a perfect storm of variables that align perfectly so that pilots missed the auto/manual issue. For instance - their relationship is sour, egos would have been at play. Working together may have looked like bickering and blaming in this case. Once of them may have gone to look at the auto/manual button but just as he did, there was a distraction from another noise… And there would be many of these events. See what I’m getting at? Everything just aligned perfectly to create a picture of incompetence. Maybe an automatic failsafe should have been mandatory so that at a dangerous altitude it switches itself back to auto? (Don’t hate on me, I’m a laymen aviator 😂) Truly horrifying. I can’t imagine what must have gone through the mind of the conscious guy in the cockpit. Bravo again on the video!

So it all started with a “small” mistake from the engineer….That’s haunting 💔.

What a hero that steward was……the strength it must have taken him to just make it into the cabin with little air and try and figure it out. Bless. X

It is important to notice that is believed that when Andreas noticed that he couldn't flight the plane, he moved the controls and the plane as best he could away from buildings and into a remote location since the plane had a high likelihood of crashing over the town.

this is so disturbing and heart shattering. that’s why people need to always, always pay attention to the smallest things, especially when you’re responsible for the lives of hundreds of people.

I'm just in awe of how good quality and thoughtful these documentaries you're making are. Fantastic work! 💞💞

The distress and panic in that F-16 Pilots voice after witnessing what he did made me really choke up and tear up a little. I cannot imagine. RIP to all lost.

This was incredibly haunting. I’m literally sobbing at how sad and avoidable this whole situation was…keep making this amazing content omg thank you

This is the most chilling aviation story I've heard. Ever time I hear a different retelling of it, it sends shivers down my spine.

Youre one of my new favorite content creators, I've watched all of your videos at this point. Youre very entertaining, and your voice is so soothing in comparison to most of the topics you speak about. It's wonderful.

Literal chills dude, the last audio conversation is heart breaking to listen to. R.I.P to all the passengers. Plane crash cases are always so scary and sad.

I’ve watched many airline crash docs/videos, including Helios 522 (the ghost plane), & this was by far the most detailed & compelling presentation I’ve heard of this disastrous & tragic story. As you articulated the events that occurred in flight, it felt as if you took us back to that day on the plane. I know this has been said many times before, but please continue posting videos. I understand it’s time-consuming & a lot of work, but you have a natural talent & eye for this. I’m a huge fan!! Thank you!!!😊

As a Greek Cypriot i remember this day like it was happened yesterday! It was a devastating day! The old lady who lives in the same building as me had her son and his wife on that plane! I used to see him a lot visiting his mother and he looked like a good man. Rest in peace to all the innocent victims , such a tragedy to lose your life like that! May God bless us all.

Absolutely devastating 💔 Beautiful work on this one- subscribed right away, looking forward to watching your other ones on my time off. Please keep them coming! ❤

The production value is waaaay above the vast majority of these kind of channels, thank you and keep these rolling it's great

I remember when this was on TV, live. I was in Greece myself at that time.... we sat on the couch and couldn't believe our eyes. I still remember how scary that was, thinking about the suffocation... I asked my mom (I was 12 back then) why the fighter jets didn't do anything to help? With a simply reply from her like "Because they can't do anything". That's just frightening... My mom has been flying to Greece with 2 airplane trips for 21 years. Never anything bad as that happened...and I'm grateful. But you never know.....ugh

Amazing well narrated and informed video about such a haunting, sad and terrifying occurrence. You gained a sub and I'll definitely be checking out more of your content.

This was such a fantastic video. I love the analysis of airline disasters and I actually first heard about this on a podcast called Black Box Down (S6E60, Oct 21, 2021) but having the visuals to go along with it in a different take on it has been fascinating. Instant subscriber!

I disappeared into this video in a way I haven't in over a decade. The narration, the background music, the audio clips, the visuals, everything is put together in such a meaningful way that it really puts you there. I can't recall the last time I was given goosebumps by something out of my own head. Everything felt so real, and that's not a talent most people have. You have a gift and I'll be watching as a loyal subscriber for as long as you keep creating.

I have watched multiple flight breakdowns from reputable channels of this incident yet this is the most detailed and comprehensive video of this flight incident I have ever seen.

So many deaths are caused by negligence, it makes me so incredibly angry because the loss of life could be prevented if people did their due diligence. But some people are simply too lazy, too inconsiderate, or too incompetent to care.

Wow, I can't believe I haven't seen this sooner, I've heard of this crash but I've never heard the details, this video is so incredibly well put together and absolutely terrifying, it deserves more credit for being this good.

just want to say, you're doing an amazing job! I know you have life outside these videos and it's just you and you gotta pay your bills. but the absolute great A work you do! amazing! you won't ever have to work again if you keep this up. pure talent!

We will never know what truly happened in that plane but one things for certain, Andreas' family should be proud of his effort. Somehow he fought oxygen loss and was able to remember how to get into the cockpit and seemingly was the only person able to do so. Tried his best under the very dark and trying circumstances. I think if only he had a little bit more air, his brain wouldve saved them all.

This channel is absolutely killing it - great production ( no AI !!) and scripting. The narration is sublime. Watch them all.

This channel is stupidly good. I've been watching random videos from it on my suggestions and never saw that the subscriber count was pretty low for the quality. Oh well it'll come

please keep making this stuff, it’s horrifying but you bring light to these tragedies without holding back- but you also don’t go overboard with crazy details like some other channels. i just appreciate how straightforward your content is- it’s incredible and i subbed on the spot, i hope you grow like crazy, you deserve it

Something about Andrea using his fleeting moments of ability to try in vain to save everyone strikes me so much. Especially with what was happening to his body, he must've fought to keep himself going isn't easy

This is the best channel ever for serious topics, handled with such respect.

your narration truly gave me the chills. thanks for the video!

This made me cry, this is absolutely devastating. The flight attendant’s story broke my heart. Such incompetence and negligence, could have so easily been avoided.

It’s incredibly the quality and detail in these videos. The voice is so soothing and really gets you into it. 10/10

When I was a student pilot, we were sent into a hypoxia-simulation chamber. That was one of the scariest experiences I've had. We were given easy mathematics tests to do like 1+4, 2+2 etc. while sitting in the chamber while it simulated climbing in altitude. We were given notes to write the answers down. When it got to only 10,000 ft. AGL, I remember the quiz was something easy like 5+5, I wrote 10 in the paper and started to feel light headed. I signalled my instructor to put me in oxygen mask. After a couple of minutes I felt better and the instructor just pointed in my answer sheet. The answer I wrote was unintelligible, just scribbles when I remembered writing 10. That was harrowing as hell for me hoping to be a pilot one day

This is a terrific Channel! I can tell an awful lot of work goes into it! Please keep them coming!