By A. Karkayiannis

It is generally accepted that an investigation into a virtually unprecedented air crash is a complex and timely undertaking. The process could well require up to 10 months, including the time it takes to exclude conclusions based on false information.

This process could have been shortened if Greek and Cypriot authorities had informed us about certain aspects of the incident for which evidence exists.

The first thing they could have clarified is that Greek authorities were responsible for the course of the doomed aircraft from the moment it entered the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) until it crashed in Grammatiko.

Details about the Greek authorities’ handling of the emergency situation have been recorded and can be used as a basis for evaluations of whether any errors or omissions occurred.

The period of time prior to when the Helios Airways plane enteres Athens’s FIR — deemed to be the most crucial — is the responsibility of the Cypriot authorities, who are obliged to brief the public as to whether the aircraft had been flightworthy, whether the airline was reliable and what relationship the company had with the Cypriot state.

All the above questions can be answered now; there is no need to wait for final findings.