A £2.15bn legal claim has been launched over the helicopter crash that killed the former Leicester City owner, his family's lawyers have said.
Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others died when his private plane crashed shortly after take-off from the club's King Power Stadium in October 2018.
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's family alleges that Leonardo SpA, which manufactured the helicopter, is responsible for his death.
It is seeking £2.15 billion in compensation for loss of earnings as a result of the Thai billionaire's death, pain he suffered before he died and funeral costs, law firm Stewarts said.
The 209-page report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said there were “serious concerns” about the safety of the plane, according to Stewarts.
It said the family launched High Court proceedings on Friday and added: “The report found that the accident was caused by the seizure of a key component located in the tail rotor, which Leonardo had identified as critical at the design stage, and its failure catastrophically.
“This failure led to a series of further failures that sent the helicopter into an uncontrolled and accelerating spin until it crashed and burst into flames.”
Multiple flaws in Leonardo's design process caused the component to fail, Stewarts said.
It added that a “key design change” was made to mitigate one risk in other variants of the helicopter, but that change was not made in the plane carrying Srivaddhanaprabha.
“Only that design change could have prevented the complete loss of control of the helicopter and the death of all those on board,” the firm claimed, adding that Leonardo did not warn customers or regulators about the risk.
“The AAIB report concludes that there was nothing the pilot could have done to prevent the accident,” Stewarts said.
Mr. Srivaddhanaprabha's Leonardo AW169 aircraft took off from the center of the field shortly after 19:30 on 27 October.
The helicopter briefly veered to the right before “rapidly developing an increasing right turn, despite the immediate application of corrective control inputs from the pilot,” the AAIB report said.
The plane reached about 430 feet before descending “with a high rate of rotation.”
It struck a concrete surface and landed on its left side, the impact damaging the lower fuselage and fuel tanks.
This caused a “significant fuel leak”, which ignited, and the fire “quickly engulfed the hull”, according to the report.
Four people on board survived the initial impact but were burned alive inside, Stewarts said, citing autopsy reports.
At the time of the crash, Mr Srivaddhanaprabha's Thai Travel retail group, King Power, was making more than £2.5 billion in annual revenue, the company said.
His net profit reached £237m in the year before his death, it added.
The damages sought by the family relate to personal injuries suffered by Mr. Srivaddhanaprabha, legal damages for bereavement, damage or loss of his personal belongings, and funeral, memorial and estate costs.
They also include “special loss of nonmaterial benefit, love and affection that only a father and husband can provide,” and past and future loss of income or services.
Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who succeeded his father as chairman of Leicester City, said: “My family feels the loss of my father today as much as we ever did.
“That my own children and their relatives will never know about their grandfather adds to our suffering.
“We have considered the conclusions of the AAIB report and thought carefully about how we want to proceed.
“My father trusted Leonardo when he bought that helicopter, but the conclusions of the report on his death show that his trust was fatally lost.
“I hold them fully responsible for his death.”
Peter Neenan, a partner at Stewarts, who is representing the family, said: “The basis of the claim brought against Leonard is the AAIB's independent report published in September 2023.
“Given the AAIB's remit to report on safety, not guilt, the report was as damning a report as I have ever read.
“The claim takes that safety-based analysis to its eventual implication in allegations of defects and negligence during the design process.
“Leonard's customers include national militaries, air ambulances and other emergency services worldwide.
“It is crucial that all operators of these helicopters have faith and trust in the machines.”
The legal request comes ahead of an official investigation
Sky Sports News Senior Reporter Rob Dorsett:
“For many Leicester City fans, this will bring back haunting memories of the darkest day in the club's history, which comes just two years after the best day in the club's history when they lifted the Premier League trophy in 2016.
“The legal request comes ahead of the start of the official investigation into the deaths of those five people. It starts in Leicester on Monday and should run until the end of January.
“We have contacted Leonardo SpA for comment, but have not yet received a response.”