The pilot of the helicopter that crashed and exploded, killing Leicester City’s owner, cried as it spun out of control, “I have no idea what’s going on.”
The chopper, which had just taken off from the club’s pitch after a match, crashed to the ground seconds later.
Owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 60, staffers Nusara Suknamai, 32, and Kaveporn Punpare, 33, pilot Eric Swaffer, 53, and his partner and professional pilot Izabela Roza Lechowicz, 46 were all slain.
“Hey, hey, hey!” exclaimed someone. Mr Swaffer, from the cabin, responded, “I’ve no idea what’s going on.”
The AAIB ruled out pilot fault and stated that he took the necessary procedures, such as elevating a lever to lessen the helicopter’s pitch angle and soften the impact.
On its left side, it crashed on a concrete step. Four of the five survived the initial hit but were killed when the plane caught fire after a gasoline leak within a minute.
The AAIB determined that the control system failed because a bearing in the tail rotor broke up as a result of its ceramic balls slipping rather than rolling after a pressure buildup.
“The damage in that case,” said Adrian Cope, AAIB senior inspector for engineering.
Bearing inspections were only necessary after 400 hours of operation, although the helicopter had only flown 331 hours.
Maintenance tests to compare the state of worn bearings to their original design are not required, which contributed to the crash.
Authorities from Canada, France, Italy, and the United States were also involved in the investigation.
The AAIB submitted eight safety recommendations to the European Aviation Safety Agency, whose rules are followed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, to “address weaknesses or omissions” in helicopter certification requirements.
As investigators became aware of issues, the manufacturer and EASA made changes to the AW169 and AW189 fleets. In April of last year, a statue honouring Mr Vichai was unveiled at the stadium.
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