The family of Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the former owner of Leicester City Football Club, has filed a significant legal claim against Leonardo S.p.A., the manufacturer of the helicopter involved in the tragic 2018 crash. This legal pursuit seeks £2.15 billion in damages following the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report, which identified critical design failures in the Leonardo AW169 helicopter. The crash, which claimed the lives of Khun Vichai and four others, occurred shortly after the helicopter took off from King Power Stadium on October 27, 2018.
The helicopter lifted off from the centre spot of the pitch at King Power Stadium around 7:30 pm. Shortly after takeoff, a catastrophic failure occurred due to the seizure of a key component in the tail rotor. The AAIB report, released in September 2023, detailed that this mechanical failure led to the helicopter briefly turning right before descending rapidly with a high rotation rate, resulting in the crash. Notably, the report concluded that the pilot could not have prevented the accident.
The AAIB's findings pointed to multiple failures in Leonardo's design process as the root cause of the tail rotor component seizure. A key design alteration intended to mitigate risks in other helicopter variants was notably absent in the AW169 model used by Khun Vichai. This oversight, according to the report, was critical.
"That design alteration alone may have prevented the total loss of control of the helicopter and the death of all those on board," stated Stewarts, the law firm representing Khun Vichai's family.
Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, Khun Vichai's son, expressed profound grief and frustration over the incident and its implications.
"My family feels the loss of my father as much today as we ever have done," he said.
"That my own children and their cousins will never know their grandfather compounds our suffering," he added.
Khun Aiyawatt also voiced strong criticism towards Leonardo S.p.A., highlighting misplaced trust in their products.
"My father trusted Leonardo when he bought that helicopter but the conclusions of the report into his death show that his trust was fatally misplaced."
Peter Neenan, a representative from Stewarts, emphasized that their legal claim against Leonardo is grounded firmly on the AAIB report's findings.
"The foundation of the claim brought against Leonardo is the independent AAIB report released in September 2023."
The legal claim seeks compensation for a variety of losses. These include personal injuries, statutory bereavement damages, damage to or loss of personal effects, and costs associated with funeral, memorial, and probate expenses.
"The report found the crash was caused by the seizure of a key component located in the tail rotor, which Leonardo had identified in the design phase as being critical, and its failure catastrophic," Stewarts elaborated.
The tragic incident left a lasting impact on both the Srivaddhanaprabha family and Leicester City Football Club. Khun Vichai was revered for his contributions to the club and his role in its historic Premier League triumph in 2016. His untimely death marked a significant loss to the community.
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