Leicester launch £2.15bn lawsuit against helicopter manufacturer following tragic death of chairman in 2018 crash

Leicester's former owner Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died after the helicopter they were in crashed outside King Power Stadium in October 2018. On Friday, the Foxes' Thai billionaire owners launched this huge compensation claim at the High Court against helicopter manufacturer Leonardo SpA.

The Srivaddhanaprabha family - who bought Leicester in 2010 and oversaw their 2016 Premier League triumph - claim this lawsuit against the Italian company is the 'largest of its kind in British legal history'. Incidentally, an Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report (September 2023) concluded that the pilot was unable to prevent the crash following a tail rotor failure. However, it added there were safety concerns about the helicopter and the lawsuit claims Leonardo could have made important changes that could have stopped the fatal crash from occurring.

Vichai's son Aiyawatt said, via The Telegraph: "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."

The claim reportedly seeks loss of earnings and damages totalling £2.15bn ($2.6bn). It remains to be seen how the helicopter manufacturer will respond to this lawsuit.