The family of the former owner of Leicester City will be launching a £2.15bn claim against Leonardo following the fateful helicopter crash back in October 2018.
Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others were killed in the fateful crash over six years ago.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
AAIB Report Opens Up Floodgates For Leonardo To Be Sued Over The Helicopter Crash?
G-VSKP, the AgustaWestland AW169 involved in the accident, belonged to the chairman of Leicester City FC.
Following the departure from the club’s pitch, the helicopter crashed at the car park outside of the club.
Contributory Factors…
Furthermore, as per Aviation Safety Network, the following contributory factors were mentioned in the CAA report:
- 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, nor were they required to be by the regulatory requirements and guidance.
- There were no design or test requirements in Certification Specification 29 which explicitly addressed rolling contact fatigue in bearings identified as critical parts; while the certification testing of the duplex bearing met the airworthiness authority’s acceptable means of compliance, it was not sufficiently representative of operational demands to identify the failure mode.
- The manufacturer of the helicopter did not implement a routine inspection requirement for critical part bearings removed from service to review their condition against original design and certification assumptions, nor were they required to by the regulatory requirements and guidance.
- Although the failure of the duplex bearing was classified as catastrophic in the certification failure analysis, the various failure sequences and possible risk reduction and mitigation measures within the wider tail rotor control system were not fully considered in the certification process; the regulatory guidance stated that this was not required.
High Court Claim Made on Friday…
As a result of the full report publication, the family of Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha launched the £2.15bn claim.
In a statement, the family said the following in the court ruling regarding the Leicester City FC helicopter crash:
“The report found the crash was caused by the seizure of a key component located in the tail rotor, which Leonardo had identified in the design phase as being critical, and its failure catastrophic.”
“This failure prompted a sequence of further failures which drove the helicopter into an uncontrollable and accelerating spin until it crashed and erupted into flames.”
Will The Leicester City FC Owners Win The Claim?
The £2.15bn claim against Leonardo, which produces the AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter, is specific in nature.
King Power, the company that the former owner ran turns over more than £2.5bn a year in revenue.
Net profit reached around £237m during the year before his death.
Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who succeeded his father as the Leicester City FC Chairman said the following:
“My family feels the loss of my father as much today as we ever have done.
“That my own children and their cousins will never know their grandfather compounds our suffering.
“We have reflected on the conclusions of the AAIB report and thought carefully about how we wished to proceed.
“My father trusted Leonardo when he bought that helicopter but the conclusions of the report into his death show that his trust was fatally misplaced.
“I hold them wholly responsible for his death.”
It is unclear whether they will win the claim as it is still in early stages at present.
But if the family of the Leicester City FC Owners do win it, it will be a significant moment for Leonardo.
Looking Ahead…
Looking ahead, all eyes will turn to the proceedings that will follow.
If the Leicester City FC owners win the £2.15bn claim from the helicopter crash, this could put Leonardo in a challenging spot.
Moreover, it is a lot of money to hand over, and will dent the balance sheets.
If Leonardo are found to be responsible in the courts, then it is likely the owners will win.
However, the Leonardo legal team will no doubt be assembling to see how they can fight this claim.
It is a significant compensation claim which could have ramifications for the conglomerate in the future.
As soon as we hear more on this, then we will update you via the AviationSource website.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsleter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
