Leicester City helicopter crash ruled an accident

Late chair’s son hits out at makers of death trap’ aircraft

- HOLLY EVANS

The son of Leicester City’s late chair has hit out at the manufacturer of a “death trap” helicopter that crashed and killed his father. Five people died when the Leonardo AW169 helicopter crashed outside the King Power Stadium and became engulfed in flames, in what an inquest jury ruled yesterday was an accident.

The jury returned its conclusion in the inquests into the deaths of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the helicopter’s pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner and co-pilot Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare at Leicester City Hall.

In a statement read on behalf of the relatives of the late chair, his son Aiyawatt “Top” Srivaddhanaprabha said: “My father trusted the design of this helicopter. It was Leonardo’s responsibility to make sure the helicopter was safe. It wasn’t safe, it was a death trap.”

Jurors heard that as the helicopter was leaving the stadium on 27 October 2018, a fault caused it to spin “rapidly” out of control before it crashed from a height of 430ft and burst into flames. Senior coroner Catherine Mason instructed the jury before they began their deliberations that they would only be able to conclude that it had been an accident.