The pilot of the helicopter within the deadly crash at Leicester’s soccer stadium in 2018 informed his passengers “I’ve no thought what’s occurring” because the plane spun uncontrolled, accident investigators reported.
Inspectors mentioned the crash, which killed the proprietor of Leicester Metropolis Soccer Membership, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, three different passengers and the pilot, was a “tragic accident”. Mechanical failure, by means of a worn ball bearing within the tail rotor, led to a lack of management after takeoff from the King Energy Stadium.
A report from the Air Accidents Investigation Department (AAIB), printed virtually 5 years after the crash on 27 October 2018, has cleared the pilot of any error and dominated out a collision with a drone.
4 of the 5 folks onboard have been discovered to have survived the preliminary crash, earlier than dying when the plane was engulfed in fireplace lower than a minute later.
The helicopter had flown in to land on the Leicester pitch half an hour after a match to gather Vichai. Investigators mentioned the pilot had been “relaxed” earlier than the deadly flight 50 minutes later.
However quickly after takeoff, the pedals turned disconnected from the tail rotor and the helicopter took a pointy proper flip, which was not possible to manage.
Cockpit voice recordings picked up a shout of: “Hey, hey, hey!” from the rear cabin, the place Vichai and two of his staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, have been seated, because the helicopter began turning uncontrollably.
Eric Swaffer, a extremely skilled pilot who was accompanied within the entrance seat by his associate, Izabela Roza Lechowicz – additionally knowledgeable pilot – responded by saying: “I’ve no thought what’s occurring” and “uttered an exclamation”, the report mentioned.
The helicopter reached a peak of about 130 metres earlier than spinning to the bottom exterior the soccer stadium. Swaffer “carried out essentially the most applicable actions”, the AAIB mentioned, together with retracting the touchdown gear to cushion the influence.
After it hit the bottom, touchdown on a concrete step, gas that leaked within the crash caught fireplace, inflicting a blaze too intense for emergency providers to get to the helicopter.
Investigators discovered {that a} bearing within the tail rotor had seized after “fatigue harm”, constructed up over a time frame. Inspection of the half would have been required after 400 hours of service, however the helicopter had solely been flown for 331 hours earlier than it crashed.
Crispin Orr, chief inspector of air accidents, mentioned: “This was a tragic accident wherein 5 folks sadly misplaced their lives. Our ideas are with their family members, and everybody affected.”
He added: “The character of the failure, within the tail rotor, was actually very severe, of a form that left them in a really poor scenario. There was nothing extra that the pilot may do.”
Orr mentioned that it had been “an extremely advanced technical investigation” and inspectors had “gone very deeply into understanding the reason for that failure”, together with utilizing simulators, commissioning endurance exams and reviewing information from 1000’s of flights.
The lengthy inquiry concerned specialists from Canada, France, Italy and the US, the place important elements within the Leonardo AW169 helicopter have been manufactured.
The AAIB mentioned motion had already been taken to make sure the continued airworthiness of the plane sort and set out additional suggestions to enhance helicopter security, together with extra checks on vital elements.
A statue of Vichai, the Thai billionaire who bankrolled Leicester’s fairytale success on the soccer pitch and have become warmly embraced by the town, was unveiled on the stadium final yr.
