Family of former Leicester owner files $2.6 billion fatal accident claim after helicopter crash
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The family of former Leicester soccer club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha has filed the largest fatal accident claim in English history after the Thai billionaire died in a helicopter crash in 2018, representatives said Friday. The High Court claim brought against helicopter manufacturer Leonardo S.p.A. was valued at 2.15 billion pounds ($2.6 billion).
Vichai and four others died in the crash just outside the Premier League team's King Power Stadium in October 2018. “My family feels the loss of my father as much today as we ever have done," said Vichai's son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha. “That my own children, and their cousins, will never know their grandfather compounds our suffering.".
An inquiry by the British government’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found that a damaged tail rotor led to the crash and ruled out pilot error. “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,” said Aiyawatt, who succeed Vichai as chairman of Leicester. “I hold them wholly responsible for his death.”.
A press release issued Friday said the claim sought compensation for loss of earnings and other damages. It said King Power, the company founded by Vichai, was earning revenue in excess of 2.5 billion pounds a year. It said net profit peaked at 237 million pounds ($289 billion) the year before his death.
The Leonardo AW169 helicopter took off from the center of the field at the King Power Stadium after a Premier League match. The inquiry found that it got to about 430 feet (130 meters) above the ground, then spun around and plummeted into a concrete step outside the stadium. It found that there was a seizure of the tail rotor duplex bearing.
