A mechanical failure caused a helicopter containing the owner of Leicester City football club to “rapidly” spin out of control before it crashed and burst into flames, moments after leaving the pitch, an inquest has heard.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, referred to in court as Khun Vichai, died in the crash on October 27 2018 after a mechanical failure caused the aircraft to spin while it was leaving the King Power Stadium in Leicester.
An inquest sitting at Leicester City Hall, which began on Monday, is also looking at the deaths of the helicopter’s pilot, Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, who were also killed in the incident.
Jon Rudkin, director of football at Leicester City who knew the club’s owner for eight years before his death, described the moment the helicopter, a Leonardo AW169, began to “nosedive” after he had walked Khun Vichai to it across the pitch.
Mr Rudkin said of the helicopter’s descent: “It held its position as it sometimes did. As it turned it continued to turn and then go into a spin.
“As soon as it went on that first full circle, I thought this was strange. It then started to nosedive away from the stadium still rotating in the air.”
Mr Rudkin told the inquest he saw the chairman wave and give a thumbs up as the helicopter began to leave the pitch.
The inquest was shown an animation of the helicopter’s mechanical failure, which led to it spinning “rapidly out of control” before crashing outside the stadium.
Air Accidents Investigation Branch principle inspector Mark Jarvis told the inquest a duplex bearing on the tail rotor became “seized and locked” when the pilot tried to do a right-hand turn over the stadium, which caused the actuator control shaft to spin “very fast”.
Mr Jarvis said: “The conclusion was that the rotor duplex bearing experienced loading which resulted in pressures within that bearing which was sufficient to cause the lubrication to break down resulting in the bearing seizing and failing.
“Our conclusion was that the pilot had done everything in his power to try to avoid and correct the situation he found himself in.
“The forces felt by the pilot are extreme and extremely disorientating.”
Mr Jarvis added that the tail end of the helicopter struck the ground first before it caught fire.
He said: “The helicopter was out of control. The only control the pilot had was on the rate of descent of the helicopter during extremely disorientating conditions.
“The pilot took quick action and took the only actions he could do and continued to try and take those actions. The pilot did everything possibly expected of him.”
Giving evidence at the inquest, Mr Rudkin tearfully told the hearing that Khun Vichai made a “remarkable impression” on the football club.
He said: “It has been a remarkable impression he has made. Not only on the football club but on the city.
“Once we heard the chairman had not survived the accident, it was a complete shock. Shock right across the football club, the fans, the community and worldwide really. He made such an impact on football.
“You could see the outpouring that then went in relation to outside the stadium. I can’t imagine what it was like for the family.”
In a tribute read to the court by family barrister Philip Shepherd KC, the family of Khun Vichai said: “Khun Vichai was the leader of our family, a caring and devoted husband, father, uncle and grandfather.
“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 inquest, which is expected to last two to three weeks, continues.
