Jury retires in inquest into deaths of five people in Leicester helicopter crash

A jury has retired to begin its deliberations in the inquests into the deaths of the former Leicester City owner and four others who were killed in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium more than six years ago.

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.

Senior coroner Catherine Mason addressed the jury at Leicester City Hall on Monday before sending them out to deliberate.

She instructed them to return the conclusion that the helicopter crash was accidental.

Ms 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.

“An inquest is not a criminal trial, it is not a process for apportioning blame. It is important to remember that the inquest is simply an attempt to establish the facts.”

She told the 11 jurors that they will answer four questions: who was each deceased person, when did they die, where did they die, and how did they come by their death.

“That should not include such matters as systems, processes, and precautions that might have led to the helicopter and the bearing being designed differently”, she added.

Ms Mason told the jury that they should “accept and follow” the findings of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigation into the crash, including that the pilot’s actions were “appropriate and did not contribute to the loss of control”.

The inquest had been told by Mark Jarvis, a principal inspector for the 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.

They were told 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 jury also heard a statement from Khun Vichai’s son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, which said the helicopter was bought for 7.5 million euros and had been maintained by Sloane Helicopters since February 2017.

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.

Ms Mason told the jury the pen portraits read out on the first day of the inquest were “truly heartbreaking” and gave a “glimpse” into the loss felt by their families.

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.”

The jury was sent home to continue its deliberations on Tuesday morning.