Leicester City’s tragic Thai owner waved and gave a thumbs up to club staff seconds before he died in a helicopter crash, an inquest heard.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 60, died alongside pilots Eric Swaffer, 53, and Izabela Roza Lechowicz, 46, in October 2018. The billionaire tycoon’s personal butler Kaveporn Punpare, 33, and assistant Nusara Suknamai, 32, also died in the tragedy.
They were killed when the helicopter spun out of control and burst into flames between two car parks at the King Power Stadium. It had taken off seconds earlier to take Mr Srivaddhanaprabha and his staff to London after the match against West Ham.
Inquests into the five deaths began in Leicester – more than six years after the tragedy. Leicester City’s director of football Jonathan Rudkin broke down in tears as he gave evidence to the hearing.
He told the inquest how he sat alongside Vichai during the game and later met him in his office after the match. Mr Rudkin said the club chairman checked on the condition of a player who had suffered a serious injury.
He later walked him across the pitch to board the helicopter – before watching in horror as the aircraft crashed. Mr Rudkin said: “The chairman was the last one to get in. I walked back to pitch side and stood and waited for his departure
“It seemed like two or three minutes, then the rotors got started. The chairman always waved and raised his thumb. The helicopter seemed to hold its position, then made a turn. That evening it just continued to turn and then went into a spin.
“As soon as it went on that first full circle I just thought, ‘This is strange’. I realised something was seriously wrong. It was a really fast rotation, then it started to nose-dive away from the stadium, still rotating in the air.
“I started to react, thinking ‘this unfortunately looks like it’s going to be crashing’. I turned and started to run back down the tunnel. I saw stewards and medic people, I was shouting to get a message that we need medics urgently round the back of the stadium.
“I rang through the opposite end of the tunnel and jumped straight into my car. I proceeded to the back of the stadium. I could see the helicopter had landed in the distance and there were flames.
“All I could see as I got closer was the flames from the helicopter. Then some police stopped me and said I could not advance any further due to safety. They were in fear of further explosions
“I asked if they had managed to pull people out of the helicopter, but at that stage you certainly got the feeling that sadly nobody had got out.”
Mr Rudkin broke down as he paid tribute to Vichai. “He made a remarkable impression not only on the football club but also the city,” he said. “He helped achieve the impossible dream.
“Once we heard that the chairman hadn’t survived the accident everyone was in complete shock, right across the football club. He made such a huge impact on football and the community.
“People came from far and wide to the football club to pay their respects. I can’t imagine what it was like for the family.”
Jurors were shown the body-cam footage of hero Leicestershire Police officer Sgt Michael Hooper, one of the first on the scene. He was driving in his patrol car with another colleague when the chopper plunged from the sky metres away from them.
The body-cam and dash-cam footage showed him desperately trying to break the cockpit windscreen to rescue the victims. But the hearing at Leicester city hall was told the glass was designed to withstand an 180mph bird strike and could not be smashed.
Further footage showed the police sergeant racing back to his vehicle to fetch a fire extinguisher to battle the flames. But tragically the five victims could not be saved and died as the blazing helicopter turned into a fireball.
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report published in September 2023 said a tail rotor system failure was to blame for the crash. Senior coroner Prof Catherine Mason described the horrific crash as a “tragic, well-known accident”.
Mark Jarvis, AAIB principal inspector, talked jurors at Leicester city hall through the doomed flight. The helicopter initially left Fairoaks Airport in Surrey before heading to Battersea Heliport to collect Vichai and his staff.
CCTV images were shown in the inquest of the aircraft later landing at Leicester City’s former training ground. After the match Eric and Izabela flew the helicopter from the training ground and landed on the stadium pitch.
Asked if that was usual, Mr Jarvis said: “It was, and there was an approved procedure for doing that.” CCTV images showed Vichai, Kaveporn and Nusara leaving the tunnel area and walking onto the pitch to board the helicopter.
The helicopter was due to fly to Stansted Airport so Vichai could catch a private jet to Thailand. Video footage recorded by a supporter was aired showing the aircraft taking off from the pitch.
It then made a right turn and went into a spin before plunging out of view into an open area between two car parks. Bystanders inside the stadium could be heard on the video uttering “s**t, s**t” as the helicopter went into a spin.
Mr Jarvis said it struck a concrete and brick step at 8.37pm before landing on its belly and coming to a rest on its left hand side. The impact punctured the fuel tank, causing a significant fuel leak.
Mr Jarvis told the hearing: “A fire started very rapidly and consumed the whole helicopter.” He said Sgt Hooper’s desperate attempts to put out the fire with his extinguisher were futile.
“It would have been an extreme fire,” said the expert. The extinguisher would not have been able to do anything. The heat would have been intense.”
Two fire engines arrived at the scene less than six minutes after the crash. The blaze was extinguished six minutes later. The three-week jury inquest began by hearing ‘pen portrait’ tributes to the five victims.
Philip Shepherd, counsel on behalf of Vichai, read out a tribute to the billionaire from his family.
“He was the leader of our family, a caring and devoted husband. A caring father, uncle and grandfather,” read the statement. “We feel the loss of him as much 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 love him very much. It’s impossible to put him into words. He possessed all of the best qualities.
“He was adored for his kind spirit, generosity, charm, sense of humour and intellect. The fact that his grandchildren will never know him compounds our suffering every day
“His first granddaughter, Love, was born one month before his death. In that short time he showed her unconditional love. On his last trip to England he went shopping for gifts for her. He would have done anything and everything for her.
“Before he died he told his daughter he would work until Love was 20 years old. His plan was to stay healthy and ensure their future and financial legacy
“He was a family man, he took care of all of us. He was a man with boundless energy. Innovation and entrepreneurial were instinctive to him.”
His family described Vichai as a “visionary and fearless entrepreneur” whose company success was “born out of his vision , flair and skill”.
The statement continued: “He always looked for excellence. He dreamed big. His positive energy was contagious. He maintained that, through hard work and discipline, anything could be achieved.
“He was ‘the possible man’, as he achieved so much and showed no signs of slowing down. He still had so much to give and so much ambition to expand.”
The family said Vichai “formed a bond not only with Leicester City but also the supporters.” Their statement ended: “We miss him every day. He was a phenomenon. He was one of a kind.”
Kate Lechowicz described her pilot sister Izabela as an “extraordinary individual” who “cherished her profession”.She said aviation was her “true passion” but she also loved travelling, animal welfare and scuba diving.
Kate added: “She had an immense passion for life, coupled with remarkable modesty. She demonstrated that nothing was impossible for her. She is still dearly missed by so many.”
She said Izabela’s partner Eric, a former EasyJet and Virgin Radio traffic pilot, “had a profound love for aviation, technology and travel”.
Kate revealed Eric had previously flown members of the Royal Family on helicopter trips.
“There was nothing he had not tried his hand at,” she told the inquest. “He excelled at everything he tried. He truly lived his dream life as he and Izabela soared through the skies together, forever loved and never forgotten.”
Kaveporn’s widow Pitcheporn, 43, a mum-of-one, said her husband was proud to be Vichai’s main butler.
She said: “He was a kind, hard-working, compassionate person. He is missed by all his family each and every day.”
Nusara’s relatives described her as the “pillar of the family”. A lawyer representing the family said: “It’s the greatest loss for them. They will never forget it. It’s a great tragedy.”
They said she was a former Miss Thailand contestant and actress. Jurors will later hear from witnesses, emergency services, AAIB investigators and Leicester City officials.
Interested parties include Leicester City, King Power International Group and the helicopter’s operator and manufacturer. Last week Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s family launched a £2.15 billion legal claim against the makers of the helicopter.
In the largest fatal accident claim in UK legal history, they allege Italian company Leonardo S.p.A is liable for his death. His family is seeking compensation for loss of earnings, the pain he experienced before he died, and funeral expenses.
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