Family of Leicester City chairman killed in helicopter crash sue manufacturer for £2bn

Leicester City's owners person launched a landmark suit against a chopper shaper pursuing the nine chairman's decease successful a clang successful 2018.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's household are suing Italian institution Leonardo SpA for £2.15bn aft the 60-year-old president and 4 others were killed erstwhile their chopper crashed conscionable extracurricular the King Power Stadium successful October 2018.

The suit is the largest fatal mishap assertion successful English history, according to the family's lawyers. They are asking for compensation for the nonaccomplishment of net and different damages, arsenic a effect of the billionaire's death.

The ineligible enactment comes much than six years aft the fatal clang and arsenic an inquest into the decease of the 60-year-old president and his chap passengers is acceptable to statesman connected Monday.

Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's lad Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who took implicit arsenic the club's chairman, said: "My household feels the nonaccomplishment of my begetter arsenic overmuch contiguous arsenic we ever person done.

"That my ain children, and their cousins volition ne'er cognize their gramps compounds our suffering… My begetter trusted Leonardo erstwhile helium bought that chopper but the conclusions of the study into his decease amusement that his spot was fatally misplaced. I clasp them wholly liable for his death."

The precocious Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's company, King Power, was earning much than £2.5bn successful gross per year, according to his family's lawyers. The suit claims "that occurrence was driven by Khun Vichai's vision, drive, relationships, entrepreneurism, ingenuity and reputation."

"All of this was mislaid with his death," it adds.

The fatal clang took spot soon aft the chopper took disconnected from Leicester's crushed pursuing a 1-1 gully against West Ham connected 27 October 2018.

The craft landed connected a factual measurement and 4 of the 5 occupants survived the archetypal impact, but each subsequently died successful the substance occurrence that engulfed the chopper wrong a minute.

The different victims were 2 of Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, aviator Eric Swaffer and Mr Swaffer's woman Izabela Roza Lechowicz, a chap pilot.

Investigators found the pilot's pedals became disconnected from the process rotor - resulting successful the craft making a crisp close crook which was "impossible" to control, earlier the chopper spun quickly, astir 5 times.

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The Air Accidents Investigation Branch described this arsenic "a catastrophic failure" and concluded the aviator was incapable to forestall the crash.

The suit alleges the clang was the effect of 'multiple failures' successful Leonardo's plan process. It besides alleges that the shaper failed to pass customers oregon regulators astir the risk.

Sky News has contacted chopper shaper Leonardo for comment.