Chairman’s family launches legal claim | Global News Avenue

The family of the former Leicester City chairman who died in a helicopter crash along with four others have launched a £2.15bn legal claim against the aircraft manufacturer.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in October 2018, along with fellow passengers Kaveporn Punpare, Nusara Suknamai, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz.

The claim seeks compensation for lost earnings and other losses, valued at more than £2 billion.

Stults Solicitors, representing the family, said it was “the largest fatal accident claim in UK history”.

The crash occurred on October 27, 2018, about an hour after the end of a home match against West Ham United. The plane took off from the club’s King Power Stadium and crashed shortly after.

Stultz said the high court had launched proceedings on Friday.

one An investigation into the death is about to begin On Monday, more than six years later, eyewitnesses, emergency services and corporate witnesses were all set to give evidence in front of a jury.

A report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) in September 2023, Crash found to be ‘inevitable’ After a series of mechanical failures, he said there was “very little” the pilot could have done to save everyone on board.

AAIB chief aviation accident inspector Crispin Orr said Mr Swaffer had tried his best to control the Leonardo AW169 helicopter, but a catastrophic failure of the tail rotor bearing caused the aircraft to turn sharply to the right.

The AAIB said the helicopter was losing control when it reached an altitude of about 430 feet (131 m) and shouts of “hey, hey, hey” came from the rear cabin where Mr Vichai and his staff were sitting. .

“I don’t know what happened,” Mr Swaffer said in a recording from the plane shortly before the helicopter crashed into the concrete steps.

The investigation found that a worn bearing on the tail rotor became stuck after the helicopter took off.

Subsequently, the shaft that controls the tail rotor unscrewed and fell off, causing the helicopter to spin out of the pilot’s control.

The AAIB report said the helicopter met “all applicable airworthiness requirements” and had been properly maintained before the crash.

Inspectors said wear on the rotor bearings also accumulated over time and was unpredictable.

Bearings do not require inspection until 400 hours of use, but the helicopter had only flown 331 hours at the time of the accident.

The AAIB said one of the “contributing factors” was that regulations did not require maintenance inspections to check the condition of old bearings against their original design.

Drone involvement and pilot error were ruled out.

Stultz partner Peter Neenan said: “Leonardo’s customers include national armies, air ambulances and other first responders around the world.

“It is vital that all operators of these helicopters have faith and confidence in these machines.”

Vichai’s son Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha took over as Leicester City chairman following his father’s death. He said: “Today my family feels the loss of their father as much as ever. My own children and their cousins ​​will never know this. “Their grandfather compounded our pain.

“We have reflected on the conclusions of the AAIB report and carefully considered how we wish to proceed,” he added.

A spokesperson for Leonardo UK said: “Leonardo expresses its deepest sympathies to those who lost their lives in the accident, all of whom were clearly loved by their families, friends and communities.

“Their deaths are an unquestionable tragedy. Leonardo is aware of the claim brought to the UK High Court by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s family and is working with his legal advisers and insurance The company is considering this together and Leonardo intends to defend this claim.”