Helicopter group Leonardo faces $2.7B claim over Thai billionaire’s death

Italian helicopter group Leonardo is facing a $2.7 billion claim over the death of a Thai tycoon in 2018.

Thai businessman and billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was the owner of Premier League team Leicester City from 2010 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2018.

Srivaddhanaprabha, along with four other people, was onboard a Leonardo AW169 helicopter, with registration G-VSKP, on October 27, 2018. The helicopter took off from Leicester City’s King Power Stadium in Leicester, England and was on its way to London-Luton Airport (LTN). 

The helicopter was climbing out of King Power Stadiumwhen it departed from controlled flight and struck the ground in an open area adjacent to the stadium. All passengers, including pilots, were killed in the crash.

In September 2023, a report by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found the crash could not have been avoided after a sequence of mechanical failures. One of the findings said that seizure of the tail rotor duplex bearing initiated a sequence of failures in the tail rotor pitch control mechanism, which culminated in the unrecoverable loss of control of the tail rotor blade pitch angle and the blades moving to their physical limit of travel. The report said that there was nothing the pilot could have done to prevent the crash. 

The investigation also said, “the load survey flight test results were not shared by the helicopter manufacturer with the bearing manufacturer in order to validate the original analysis of the theoretical load spectrum and assess the continued suitability of the bearing for this application.”

Srivaddhanaprabha’s family is claiming loss of earnings and other damages. The lawsuit represents the largest fatal accident claim in English legal history.

Leonardo issued a statement via The Financial Times saying: “Leonardo has the deepest sympathy for those who lost their lives in the accident, all of them clearly loved by their families, friends and communities. Their deaths were an unquestionable tragedy.”

The group added: “The AAIB Final Report, released in September 2023, has not directed any Recommended Actions to Leonardo. The AAIB report concluded that Leonardo complied with all regulatory requirements in both the design and manufacture of the AW169. Leonardo meets the most modern and stringent certification and safety standards in the sector.”

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