Shorthand: Helios 522 - ‘The Ghost Plane’
4/10/202628 min
When two fighter jets came to check on the unresponsive Helios Flight 522, they were stunned at what they saw: all 115 passengers, lying motionless in their seats. Even worse – the pilot’s seat was empty, and the co-pilot lay slumped over the control panel. The commercial plane was drifting along at 34,000 feet, on autopilot – and fuel was running out.
This is the ShortHand.
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First 90 secondsHannah Maguire· Host0:00
[rock music] Hello.
Suruthi Bala· Host0:13
Hello.
Hannah Maguire· Host0:14
Hi.
Suruthi Bala· Host0:14
I think this might be- [laughs] ... our least successful recording day of all time.
Hannah Maguire· Host0:20
I'm so [laughs] tired. It's okay. You guys won't know. We're ready, we're pumped, but it has been a very bizarre start to the recording session. Um, and if you hear some banging, just because somebody seems to be doing some fucking DIY right above us, in a soundproof studio, apparently- Yeah ... that we pay for. So, you know, there's that.
Suruthi Bala· Host0:41
Yes. There is also a confession that I have to make.
Hannah Maguire· Host0:44
Uh-huh.
Suruthi Bala· Host0:45
I didn't know about this, but I did know that Helios is the Greek god of the sun, so I thought we were doing a shorthand [laughs] on Greek god of the sun.
Hannah Maguire· Host0:54
On the Greek god of the sun. [laughs] No.
Suruthi Bala· Host0:55
And that is not what we're doing at all.
Hannah Maguire· Host0:58
[laughs] If you were also hoping that that's what you were gonna listen to today, I apologize. That's not what we're listening to. But I also don't, because this is fascinating.
Suruthi Bala· Host1:07
On the morning of August the 14th, 2005, Helios Airways flight 522 departed from Cyprus with 115 passengers and six crew on board. It should've been a simple 90-minute journey from Cyprus to Prague, with a stop in Athens. But just 20 minutes after takeoff, flight 522 went completely silent. Finally, after