Leicester City helicopter crash ruled accidental at jury inquest

A helicopter crash in which five people were killed at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium was an accident, an inquest jury has concluded.

The football club’s chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, fellow passengers Kaveporn Punpare and Nusara Suknamai, pilot Eric Swaffer and Mr Swaffer’s partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz all died in the crash on 27 October 2018.

On Tuesday, the jury returned a conclusion that the deaths were an accident to coroner Prof Catherine Mason.

Jurors found the helicopter “had all its appropriate airworthiness and maintenance certificates”, adding that Mr Swaffer had taken “all the appropriate actions available to him to try to regain control of the helicopter”.

Pictures of the deceased were put on a screen in the court while the conclusion was read.

Prof Mason said: “This huge loss will be borne by their families for the rest of their lives, a loss that is also felt by the community of Leicester.

“To the families, I would say it’s been a long journey to get the answers the families wanted as to how your loved ones came to their death. I hope through this inquest you have had a voice.”

As the conclusion was delivered, Prof Mason said she would “seriously consider” issuing a prevention of future deaths report “in the coming weeks”, but would await advice from industry bodies.

She also praised emergency service workers who responded.

“From what I have heard in evidence and indeed saw with my own eyes in part… is that large numbers of extremely brave men and women selflessly strived to deal with the aftermath of this crash,” Prof Mason added.

The coroner had previously instructed the jury that its conclusions into where, when and how the five came to die could not legally dispute the findings of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

She also told the jury the identities of the deceased and the medical cause of their deaths were not in dispute.

Pathologist Dr Michael Biggs, who carried out post-mortem examinations on each of the five who died, told the inquest previously that Ms Lechowicz died from injuries sustained from the impact of the crash.

He added the other four people on board would have died “quite rapidly” from smoke inhalation from the fire that broke out after the helicopter crashed outside the stadium, following the club’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United.