A BRITISH engineer who ran a final safety check on a Cypriot passenger jet before it crashed, killing 121 people, has insisted the plane was airworthy amid growing evidence that the tragedy was caused by human error.

Alan Irwin is due to be questioned tomorrow by crash investigators who will fly to Britain following claims that the engineer is unwilling to return to Cyprus.

Officials from Greece, where the Helios Airways Boeing 737 crashed last month, will also interview Malcolm Fowler, another British mechanic who worked on the plane.

The two men, who were both employed by Helios on short-term contracts, have found themselves at the centre of the inquiry after reports that a knob used to control cabin pressure was left in the wrong position after their safety check.

The alleged error — which was apparently not spotted by the aircraft’s pilots — meant that the cabin failed to pressurise automatically. The air became too thin to breathe as Flight ZU522 from Larnaca to Athens climbed after take-off, causing most people on board to lose consciousness.

Crash investigators are also considering inspecting facilities at a Hampshire-based firm which carries out annual maintenance checks on the Helios fleet.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Irwin said: “The engineers have nothing to hide, they have no worries. The [Helios] aircraft that were out there . . . were absolutely first-class, very good aeroplanes.”

Asked if he had encountered any previous problems with the airline’s fleet, Irwin, 44, said: “No, nothing abnormal to an aircraft operation.”

He refused to discuss details of the safety check carried out with Fowler and a Cypriot mechanic on the morning of the tragedy.

However, a leaked technical report handed to police after the crash reveals that the plane was inspected because crew on its previous flight — from Heathrow to Larnaca — reported problems with a rear door.

The engineers checked the pressure system by turning a knob on the flight deck from automatic to manual. “A pressure run was carried out, Irwin in flight deck, Fowler at the rear cabin and Michaelides [the Cypriot mechanic] as safety man,” says the report.

This weekend senior legal sources in Cyprus said the engineers could face criminal proceedings if they are found to have been at fault. They could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted of “causing death by want of precaution”.

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