Cypriot plane crashed after running out of fuel

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

Chief investigator Akrivos Tsolakis presented the findings to the transport ministry following the analysis of flight recorders and autopsies on 118 bodies recovered from the site. 3 bodies have not been found.Helios Flight 522, flying from Larnaca, Cyprus to Athens, crashed near the village of Grammatiko, 40 kilometres north of Athens, in Greece's worst air disaster.

"There are indications of technical problems in the pressurisation 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 that 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. This man is believed to be flight attendant Andreas Prodromou, whose blood was reportedly found in the remains of the cockpit. He had received flight training in the past.