Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium in October 2018, with the £2.15bn claim alleging that manufacturer Leonardo SpA is liable for his death
The £2.15bn claim alleges that manufacturer Leonardo is liable
The family of former Leicester City chairman Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha have launched the largest fatal accident lawsuit in British history against the helicopter manufacturer Leonardo SpA.
Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died in a helicopter crash outside the King Power Stadium in October 2018, with the £2.15billion claim alleging that Italian manufacturer Leonardo is liable for his death.
A three-week inquest into the accident begins next Monday. And the £2.15bn high court claim launched by the Srivaddhanaprabha family seeks compensation for a loss of earnings and other damages.
Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who replaced his father as Foxes chairman, said: “My family feels the loss of my father as much today as we ever have done.
“That my own children, and their cousins will never know their grandfather compounds our suffering. We have reflected on the conclusions of the AAIB report and thought carefully about how we wished to proceed.
“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. I hold them wholly responsible for his death.”
The helicopter’s pilots, Eric Swaffer and Izabela Roza Lechowicz, and two members of Vichai’s staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, were also killed in the crash.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died in a helicopter crash (Image:
PA)
A 209-page report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found the crash was “inevitable” after a sequence of mechanical failures, and said there was “very little” Mr Swaffer, who was at the controls, could have done to prevent it.
Peter Neenan, a partner at Stewarts, the law firm representing the Srivaddhanaprabha family said: “The foundation of the claim brought against Leonardo is the independent AAIB report released in September 2023.
“Considering the purview of the AAIB’s mission is to report on safety and not to blame, the report was as damning a report as I have ever read. The claim takes that safety-driven analysis to its eventual implication in allegations of defects and negligence throughout the design process.
“Leonardo’s customers include national militaries, air ambulances and other first responders across the globe. It is critical that all operators of these helicopters have faith and confidence in the machines.”
