Leonardo refuses to release crash flight data, court hears

Summarised from BBC Leicester's report · Updated 5 Nov, 18:17 · Archive

Leonardo S.p.A., maker of the helicopter that killed Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in 2018, seeks access to flight recordings to defend a £2.15bn damages claim from his family.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the owner of Leicester City Football Club, was killed on 27 October 2018 when an AW169 helicopter crashed outside the club's stadium. Five people died in total: Vichai, pilot Eric Swaffer, co-pilot Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknami and Kaveporn Punpare. A jury inquest in Leicester last year concluded the deaths were accidental.

Vichai's family is seeking compensation and damages from Leonardo S.p.A., the Italian aerospace company that manufactured the helicopter, valued at £2.15bn. At a High Court hearing on Thursday, Leonardo applied to access data from the flight's data recorder and cockpit voice recorder held by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. The company argues the helicopter was not defective and that the crash occurred due to 'unreasonable acts or omissions' by the pilot, and that disclosure is necessary for a fair trial. The family's legal representatives have opposed the request, characterising it as a 'fishing expedition'.

Read the report

• Firm should not get crash recordings, court toldVichai Srivaddhanaprabha's family is suing helicopter firm Leonardo S.p.A. for £2.15bn.BBC Leicester · 5 Nov, 17:49

In this story: Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha · Leonardo S.p.A. · Leicester City · Eric Swaffer · Izabela Lechowicz

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log