Fatal helicopter crash investigation delayed because of pandemic, inquest told
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An investigation into the fatal helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium in which the owner of Leicester City FC was killed was delayed partly because of the Covid pandemic, an inquest has heard. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, referred to in court as Khun Vichai, died when his Leonardo AW169 helicopter spun out of control and burst into flames when it took off from the pitch after a match on October 27 2018.
An inquest at Leicester City Hall is also looking into the deaths of the helicopter’s pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare. Philip Shepherd KC, representing the relatives of Khun Vichai, told the hearing on Monday that the family had “concerns” about the length of time taken to complete the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report, which was published nearly five years after the crash.
Mark Jarvis, a principal investigator for the AAIB, told the inquest it was the “longest” investigation he had ever worked on but that it was completed in the “shortest possible” time frame. He told the inquest the investigation was “quite significantly” delayed because of the pandemic in 2020 which restricted travel to other countries and delayed the shipment of parts.
He said: “We suffered from the effects of business lockdowns, staff were not available throughout Europe … and laboratories had closed.”. Mr Jarvis added that feedback on the report, including from the AAIB’s Italian counterparts, had brought “new and significant” information forward which meant further investigations had to take place.
