
Legal claim brought by Leicester City chairman’s family over helicopter crash
Emily Dunham - 20 January 2025
You may remember the helicopter crash that happened just outside Leicester City’s King Power stadium in October 2018. The club’s chairman, Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, iconically left each home game in his helicopter, but, after a home game against West Ham United, it sadly crashed just outside the stadium. The accident killed five people: the chairman, two passengers, the pilot and the pilot’s partner. More than six years after the crash, Vichai’s family has now brought a claim against Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, the manufacturer of the aircraft.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch’s (AAIB) investigation into the crash found that it happened due to mechanical failure, following the seizure of a tail rotor bearing shortly after take-off. Despite this, the investigation found that the helicopter had complied with all of the necessary “airworthiness requirements” and had been maintained correctly. They found that the pilot had very little chance of safely preventing the crash, as it was a series of mechanical failures that led to the catastrophic event. The investigation led to no recommended actions for the manufacturer and concluded that Leonardo had complied with all regulatory requirements in the design and manufacture of the model of helicopter.
Law firm Stewarts launched a claim on behalf of the chairman’s family in January 2025, seeking compensation and damages valued at over £2 billion. Stewarts says that Leonardo is liable for the crash, as it did not warn customers or regulators about risks related to mechanical failure. The chairman’s family is seeking damages under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 and the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, which here includes claims for injuries and suffering, statutory bereavement damages, and past and future losses of income and services. King Power had revenues of around £2.5bn a year and Vichai’s family claims that the company’s success was driven by his vision, relationships and reputation, all of which were lost with his death.
The claim has been brought in the Technology and Construction courts, and an inquest into the deaths of the give people killed in the crash will conclude on Friday 31 January at City Hall in Leicester. With such a significant monetary claim, Stewarts says this is the largest fatal accident claim in English history.