Final moments of helicopter crash killed Leicester City owner revealed

‘I have no idea what’s going on’: Final moments of helicopter crash that killed Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha revealed as investigation finds four out of five passengers survived initial impact before aircraft was engulfed in inferno

The pilot of the helicopter involved in a crash which killed the owner of Leicester City Football Club said: ‘I’ve no idea what’s going on’ as the aircraft hurtled out of control, investigators have found.

The horrifying crash claimed the lives of Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, employees Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, Pilot Eric Swaffer, and his partner and fellow professional pilot Izabela Roza Lechowicz.

Four of the five on board survived the initial impact, but no-one made it out alive after the helicopter was engulfed by flames within a minute after a major fuel leak. 

Swaffer, 53, said the chilling comment seconds before the helicopter smashed into the ground outside the club’s King Power Stadium on October 27 2018, a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) revealed.

Shortly after taking off from the pitch, the Leonardo AW169 helicopter reached an altitude of approximately 430ft before it plummeted to the ground.

The Leonardo AW169 helicopter reached an altitude of approximately 430ft before plummeting to the ground. Pictured: The remains of the helicopter

Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha (pictured), employees Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, Mr Swaffer and his partner, Izabela Roza Lechowicz were all killed

Kaveporn Punpare was an assistant to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and sadly perished in the doomed flight, alongside his colleague Nusara Suknamai, right, a former beauty queen who worked for the billionaire

Pilot Eric Swaffer, 53, said: ‘I’ve no idea what’s going on’ as the aircraft turned out of control. Pictured in the cockpit with girlfriend Izabela Roza Lechowicz on a previous trip

Professional pilot Izabela Roza Lechowicz, 46, who was killed in the helicopter crash near Leicester City Football Club

The pilots managed to steer the aircraft away from cars despite the fact it was spinning out of control and smashed into the ground on an industrial estate (circled) away from huge crowds

CCTV captured moment Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter crashed seconds after take-off before crashing and killing all five passengers

The pilot’s pedals became disconnected from the tail rotor, investigators found, resulting in the aircraft making a sharp right turn which was ‘impossible’ to control.

The AAIB described this as ‘a catastrophic failure’, causing the helicopter to spin quickly, approximately five times.

As the helicopter was turning out of control, a shout of: ‘Hey, hey, hey!’ came from the rear cabin, where Mr Vichai and his employees were seated, the AAIB said.

Mr Swaffer, who was a highly experienced pilot, responded by saying: ‘I’ve no idea what’s going on’ and ‘uttered an exclamation’, according to the report.

The hero pilot ‘performed the most appropriate actions’ which included raising a lever to reduce the helicopter’s pitch angle and ‘cushion the impact’, the AAIB said.

The aircraft landed on a concrete step, coming to a rest on its left side.

The crash occurred around an hour after a Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United.

The crash occurred around an hour after a Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United

The helicopter belonging to Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha crashed outside the King Power Stadium on October 27, 2018

The AAIB inquiry found that the control system failed because a bearing in the tail rotor broke up due to its ceramic balls sliding rather than rolling, due to a build-up of pressure.

Asked if this was ‘an accident waiting to happen’, Adrian Cope, AAIB senior inspector for engineering told reporters: ‘It was a process which built up continuously.

‘The damage in that bearing built up over a period of time.’

Inspection of the bearing was only required once it has been used for 400 hours, but the helicopter had only been flown for 331 hours when the accident happened.

One of the ‘contributory factors’ for the crash was that regulations do not require maintenance checks to review the condition of used bearings against their original design, the AAIB said.

The 209-page report ruled out drone involvement and pilot error.

Emotional star players including Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel were visibly moved as they went to the shrine outside the King Power with Mr Vichai’s son (left)

Tributes poured in for Mr Vichai after news of the tycoon’s death emerged, with fans flocking to the King Power stadium to leave flowers and pay their respects 

Supporters are pictured paying tribute at Leicester City’s King Power stadium today as they wait desperately for news following owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter crashing outside the ground in the club car park last night  

(From L-R) Leicester City Executive Director Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha, Arunrung, Voramas, Mrs Aimon Srivaddhanaprabha, Leciester City Director of Football Jon Rudkin, Leciester City Vice-Chairman Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and Leicester City Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha waves to fans after a Premier League clash between Leicester City and Southampton in April 2016

The AAIB’s chief inspector of air accidents Crispin Orr said: ‘The AAIB has carried out an extensive investigation to establish why the accident happened and how safety can be improved.’

Authorities from Canada, France, Italy and the US were also involved in the investigation because of where various significant components were manufactured.

The AAIB made eight safety recommendations to the European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) – whose rules for aircraft certification are mirrored by the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK – to ‘address weaknesses or omissions’ in regulations for certifying helicopters.

These deal with the design, validation and monitoring of safety critical components.

Other changes were made to the AW169 and AW189 fleets by the manufacturer and Easa as investigators became aware of issues.

A statue of Mr Vichai was unveiled at the stadium in April last year.

Tributes poured in for Mr Vichai after news of the tycoon’s death emerged, with fans flocking to the King Power stadium to leave flowers and pay their respects.

Karen Kennell, 60, a primary school teacher from Leicester, said at the time: ‘I was at the game yesterday and I was at home when I heard the news just after half past eight.

A statue of Mr Vichai was unveiled at the stadium in April last year in his honour

An image of the Leicester City chairman, who died in the Leicester City helicopter accident, on the big screen as he was remembered before the Premier League match away to Cardiff

A dedication to the the Leicester chairman was written in the Cardiff City’s matchday programme from the Welsh club’s Malaysian owner, Vincent Tan, and the board of directors

‘He’s contributed so much to the club and the city, when he first came they were in dire straits and he brought them back up to what they are today. 

‘Not so long I managed to shake his hand, he and the other members of the management team were in the club shop just shaking hands with people, that was just something that they did – it’s so so sad.’

Lifelong fan Tom Fall, 53, a civil servant from Leicester told reporters in 2018: ‘I was at yesterday’s game and I heard about it when I got home, it takes me about half an hour to get home and I was just getting something to eat.

‘I sat down and looked at the fans forum and someone had posted that the helicopter had crashed, I could not believe it.

‘OK so he was a businessman and many people like him take over clubs and would be quite aloof but its not been the case with him – he developed a real connection with the fans and the community and it’s ultimately led to us winning the league.’

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