Greek aviation experts are struggling to determine whether a mechanical failure or a sudden medical emergency caused a highly experienced pilot with thousands of flying hours to crash without a distress call, killing a newlywed British couple on their honeymoon.
Alexander Cromie, 31, and his wife, Marie Ebert, 30, died alongside 53-year-old Greek pilot George Raikos when their chartered helicopter plummeted into a craggy field moments before a scheduled landing on the Aegean island of Sifnos.
Aviation experts and police investigators reviewing forensic evidence said that nothing in the flight's final approach suggested trouble was coming — until, suddenly, it was too late.
“The pilot did not radio in any distress call,” said Pantelis Fragoulis, a former Army Aviation Corps pilot.
He told a national broadcaster that video footage capturing the helicopter’s final seconds – a sudden manoeuvre “strongly pointing to a fatal defect in the tail rotor system.”
“Such a devastating fault,” he said. “Can overwhelm even the steadiest of hands.”
A sudden mid-air health crisis, however, has not been ruled out.
Upcoming forensic and toxicological examinations of Mr. Raikos are expected to clarify whether a medical emergency incapacitated him at the controls.
Among the worst aviation accidents this decade, the Greek government has deployed the nation’s Organised Crime Directorate to Sifnos to handle the investigation.
Crews from the agency have local police and senior investigators from the neighbouring islands of Milos and Syros, combing through the charred wreckage in search of forensic evidence.