Had the Cypriot plane more fuel, the crash could be prevented

A Cypriot airliner that crashed earlier this month, killing 121 people on board, lost cabin pressure and ran out of fuel before slamming into a mountainous region near Athens, according to a preliminary report released Monday.

Chief investigator Akrivos Tsolakis presented the findings to the Transport Ministry following the analysis of flight recorders and autopsies on all 118 bodies recovered from the site. Three bodies have not been found, AP informs.

"That are indications of technical problems in the pressurization system ... There is proof that the engines of the plane stopped working because the fuel supply was exhausted, and that this was the final cause of the crash," said the report, a copy of which was faxed to The Associated Press.

It also said there were indications that the pilot and co-pilot of the Boeing 737-300 had been incapacitated and that a third man had attempted to steer the plane.

As Pravda.ru reported recently, Helios Flight 522, flying from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens, crashed near the village of Grammatiko, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Athens, in Greece's worst air disaster.