Family of the Victim Holds Manufacturer Accountable for Design Flaws

The family of Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who was killed along with four others in a helicopter crash, has brought a $2.6 billion lawsuit against manufacturer Leonardo S.p.A. The claim alleges that Leonardo’s failure to address design flaws caused the fatal accident.

60-year-old Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was the founder, owner, and Chairman of the King Power Group. He was an extremely successful businessman, establishing King Power as a prominent travel retail company in Thailand and assisting in its $47 million acquisition of Leicester City Football Club.

The accident involved in the claim occurred on October 27, 2018. Srivaddhanaprabha, along with four staff members, boarded his personal Leonardo AW169 helicopter at the Leicester King Power Stadium. Just after takeoff, the helicopter took a slight right turn and a spin developed. It crashed into the concrete ground, creating a large fuel leak and causing an even larger fire.

A post-mortem analysis revealed that four occupants lived through the impact but were burned alive by the fire. All five passengers were killed.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) published 209 pages of findings after the crash, raising significant safety concerns about the helicopter’s design. It noted that the accident was caused by the seizure of a critical tail rotor component. Its failure caused several other parts to follow suit, putting the helicopter into an unrecoverable spin.

The claim, filed by Srivaddhanaprabha’s family, seeks compensation for Khun Vichai’s premature death, loss of earnings, and other damages. It is valued at around $2.62 billion.

The lawsuit alleges that the seizure of the component and the resulting crash can be blamed on Leonardo’s design process. It pointed out that the manufacturer made a design alteration to address one of the associated risks on several of its helicopters, but not the one involved in the accident. The claim also noted that Leonardo failed to inform customers or regulators about this risk.

“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,” expressed Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the son of Khun Vichai. “I hold them wholly responsible for his death.”

FMI: www.leonardo.com/en