Jury rules Leicester City helicopter crash was accidental
Five people onboard the helicopter died when it crash landed near the King Power stadium in October 2018
Last updated 28th Jan 2025
An inquest jury's concluded that the Leicester City helicopter crash, in which 5 people died, was accidental.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, referred to in court as Khun Vichai, died when the aircraft crashed and caught on fire, also killing the pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare.
The Leonardo AW169 helicopter "aggressively" spun out of control from a height of 430ft and became "engulfed" in flames while taking off from the pitch after a match in Leicester on October 27 2018.
The jury's conclusion, which was read to the hearing by the foreperson, said: "The helicopter had all airworthiness and maintenance certificates. It was found that the pilot, Eric Swaffer, took all available and appropriate options to try to regain control of the helicopter."
Pictures of the five killed in the crash were put on a screen in the court while the conclusion was read.
Addressing the jury on Monday (27/01), Senior Coroner Catherine Mason said "The helicopter crash which we have been considering was a terrible tragedy that cost the lives of five people."
"As the pen portraits at the start of the hearing vividly illustrated, they were remarkable individuals"
"The time has come now for you, the jury, to reach conclusions for the public record."
The inquest had been told by Mark Jarvis, a principal inspector for the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), that the helicopter spun because of a mechanical fault of a bearing in the tail rotor which became "seized" after its lubrication broke down causing a control shaft to rotate and become unscrewed.
The helicopter crashed onto its left hand side on a 0.5m concrete step creating a "substantial" fuel leak which ignited the rear of the helicopter within a minute of the impact before flames "rapidly" consumed the helicopter, the jury had heard.
The jury heard that four of the five people killed in the crash died because of smoke inhalation after the fire started, while Ms Lechowicz "likely died at the point of impact" from traumatic injuries to her head and chest.
Forensic pathologist Dr Michael Biggs also told the inquest that there was no evidence to suggest the pilot was medically incapacitated at the time of the crash.
The court heard Mr Swaffer's actions reduced the rate of the helicopter's spin while he tried to "cushion" its impact in disorientating conditions, but "a crash landing was inevitable".
The aircraft had one of its bi-monthly "walk around" checks only 10 days before the crash.
The inquest was told the helicopter, which was considered "in the early stages of its life", was manufactured in 2016 and had only flown for 330 hours.
Khun Vichai's family said in his pen portrait: "We feel the loss of him as much today as we have ever done. He was a good man with a good heart. He was a great inspiration to us all and we all loved him very much."