Late Leicester City owner’s family sue helicopter maker for record £2.15bn
The family of former Leicester City owner Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is suing a helicopter manufacturer over his fatal 2018 crash for a record £2.15bn.
The legal claim is the largest relating to a fatal accident in English history and was launched today at the High Court in London by the Thai family.
They blame helicopter maker Leonardo SpA for the death of Khun Vichai, one of five people who died when his aircraft crashed after take-off from Leicester City’s stadium.
It follows the publication of a report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch in September 2023 which raised concerns about the safety of the helicopter and comes ahead of a three-week inquest scheduled to begin on Monday.
“My family feels the loss of my father as much today as we ever have done,” said Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who succeeded him as chairman of the 2016 Premier League winners.
“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.”
The record sum being sought by the Srivaddhanaprabha family is for loss of earnings and other damages as a result of Khun Vichai’s death, aged 60.
Family business King Power had annual revenue of over £2.5bn when he died, driven by his “vision, drive, relationships, entrepreneurism, ingenuity and reputation”, they said. “All of this was lost with his death.”
“The foundation of the claim brought against Leonardo is the independent AAIB report released in September 2023,” said the family’s lawyer Peter Neenan, a partner at Stewarts.
“Considering the purview of the AAIB’s mission is to report on safety and not to blame, the report was as damning a report as I have ever read.
“The claim takes that safety-driven analysis to its eventual implication in allegations of defects and negligence throughout the design process.
“Leonardo’s customers include national militaries, air ambulances and other first responders across the globe.
“It is critical that all operators of these helicopters have faith and confidence in the machines.”
Khun Vichai founded King Power and turned it into a successful duty-free shopping businesses before using his fortune to invest in football and polo.
He bought Leicester City in 2010 for £39m and helped steer them back into the Premier League, which they won in 2016 in one of the biggest sporting upsets of all time.