Police officers made “heroic efforts” to reach five people trapped in a helicopter which was engulfed in a “wall of flames” after crashing outside the King Power Stadium in Leicester, an inquest has heard.
Five people, including Leicester City FC owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, referred to as Khun Vichai in court, were killed when the Leonardo AW169 helicopter spun out of control as it was leaving the pitch after a match on October 27 2018.
During an inquest at Leicester City Hall on Tuesday, a jury heard that two police officers used a baton and fire extinguisher to try to save Khun Vichai, pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare.
Sergeant Mike Hooper and Constable Stephen Quartermain of Leicestershire Police were patrolling nearby in a marked vehicle when they saw the helicopter start to rotate and heard a “loud crunch” as it hit the ground.
Sgt Hooper told the hearing: “It was a flash that caught my attention. I could see the helicopter was rotating and it was horizontal and moving around, and that movement drew my attention to it.
“We heard a loud crunch, a metallic sound, which indicated to me it had crashed.”
The sergeant described a “wall of flames” at the centre of the helicopter when he reached it, and he used a baton to hit the windscreen.
He said: “Every time I hit it it bounced off and was repelling my baton every time.
“There was some slow movement from the pilot, possibly because he was dazed.
“It was incredibly hot at that point, the heat was pretty much unbearable. The aircraft was popping and banging – I did not know how long it was going to be before it went up.”
Pc Quartermain told the inquest he saw three people trapped in the back of the aircraft who were “moving their arms and legs around”.
He said of the pilot: “He was looking at me but not reacting. I didn’t know whether he was unconscious, but certainly unresponsive at that point.”
Pc Quartermain added tearfully: “The flames started to take to the rear of the aircraft. It was at that point I realised the people were going to die.”
Both officers told the hearing the pilot had been shouting “get me out of here, help me”.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue station manager Chris Parsons told the inquest: “It would have been a significant challenge, and potentially not possible, without significant time to extinguish that fire.”
Philip Shepherd KC, representing the relatives of Khun Vichai, told the officers: “On behalf of the family of Khun Vichai can I congratulate you on the heroic efforts you made that night to try to save the lives of the people who tragically died.”
John Ledwidge, former grounds manager at Leicester City, told the inquest he saw the moment the aircraft caught fire after it “aggressively” spun to the ground.
He added that club owner Khun Vichai was an “investor in people’s dreams”.
He said: “He touched a lot of people with his generosity, his warmth and humour. I felt like I was part of the family.”
