Coast guard divers retrieved on Friday morning the body of the missing pilot from the cockpit of the helicopter that crashed into the sea off northern Evia a day earlier.
The body of the 65-year-old pilot was reportedly found in a depth of 52 meters.
No other passenger was found inside the wreck, despite initial information claiming that the pilot and one passenger were on board.
Video: September 28
A colleague of the pilot told OPEN TV that they were together at the heliport in Afidnes., North-East Attica. “We filed a flight plan and took off half an hour apart. However, I saw the bad weather and turned back.”
The colleague added that they contacted the pilot half an hour later and they were told that he landed on a hill [of Mantoudi village] because he had no visibility due to bad weather conditions. He told me that as soon as the weather improved he would take off again for Volos. He didn’t tell me about the damage to the helicopter.”
The pilot was flying to Volos to pick up the owner of the helicopter. the colleague added.
According to Civil Aviation, the Augusta A190 helicopter took off from Afidnes heliport in NE Attica and the pilot informed that he would land in Mantoudi, N Evia. The helicopter landed there at 8 a.m. and took off again at 10:13.
Soon afterward, its signal disappeared from the radar.
A Search And Rescue operation was launched, however, it was difficult to locate the helicopter due to adverse weather conditions.
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