Family of Thai tycoon brings $2.7 bln claim against Leonardo over Leicester City crash

The family of Thai businessman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash in 2018, has brought a legal action against Italian helicopter manufacturer Leonardo SpA LDOF.MI in a London court valued at 2.15 billion pounds ($2.65 billion).

The family said in a statement on Friday that the action, which claims for loss of earnings and other damages, represented the largest fatal accident claim in English history.

Leonardo did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Srivaddhanaprabha was the owner of Leicester City soccer club, buying the central England side in 2010. Leicester won the English Premier League in 2016 under his ownership.

Pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz and two members of Srivaddhanaprabha's staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, were also killed in the 2018 crash, shortly after takeoff outside Leicester City's King Power Stadium following a Premier League match.

Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)found in a 2023 report that it was not possible for the pilot to recover from a tail rotor failure with the Leonardo AW169 helicopter.

Leonardo said following that report that its AW169 helicopters remained safe to fly and that the AAIB had concluded it complied with all regulatory requirements in the design and manufacture of the AW169.

($1 = 0.8120 pounds)