Plane crash pilot 'may have fallen ill'

A jet with 115 passengers and six crew members on board crashed today north of Athens, the country’s defence ministry said, and it was not clear if the pilots were conscious or at the controls when it went down.

The Cypriot Helios Airways plane crashed at about 9.20am near the coastal town of Grammatikos, about 25 miles north of Athens. Eyewitnesses told an Athens radio station the plane was being followed by fighter jets when it went down.

It was unclear why the plane went down. Reports said one of the pilots may have fallen ill or unconscious.

The flight was heading from the Cypriot city of Larnaca to Athens International Airport. After losing touch with the Athens control tower, the Greek air force scrambled two F-16 fighter jets.

“The plane crashed around 400 yards from homes in the area,” said Miltiadis Merkouris, a spokesman for the Grammatikos municipality.

Greek radio and television stations reported that the air force pilots reportedly saw no movement in the cockpit of the plane before the crash and it was unclear if the two pilots were in their seats. The plane did not respond to radio calls, according to reports.