The European Aviation Safety Agency has ordered urgent safety checks on tail rotors of AW169 helicopters and similar models following the Leicester City helicopter crash that killed five people on October 27. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has not yet determined the cause of the accident, but footage appears to show parts of the rear rotor detaching in mid-air.
The helicopter, carrying Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, employees Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer, and co-pilot Izabela Roza Lechowicz, reached an altitude of approximately 430 feet before spinning and descending rapidly. It struck the ground near the King Power Stadium and was engulfed in a post-impact fire.
The AAIB's preliminary report notes that the helicopter turned right despite the pilot's left pedal command, indicating a loss of yaw control. The investigation into the tail rotor system is being carried out as a priority. The aircraft had made earlier flights that day from Surrey to London and then to Leicester.
Experts have suggested the pilot may have encountered a 'dead man's curve' after a tail rotor failure. The AAIB continues to investigate the incident.
