FIREBALL PILOT A HERO
Lives saved as copter was steered away from ground
THE Leicester City crash pilot has been hailed a hero for steering the doomed helicopter away from the busy football stadium.
Club owner and chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 61, was among five killed in Saturday night’s fireball.
But one witness said: “The pilot saved hundreds of lives.”
The world of football was in shock last night as it was confirmed Thai billionaire Srivaddhanaprabha was on the chopper and perished along with two members of his staff, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and passenger Roza Lechowicz.
The businessman was popular with Leicester fans and the crash has been described as the club’s “darkest day”.
A club statement said: “It is with the deepest regret and a collective broken heart that we confirm our chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among those to have tragically lost their lives on Saturday evening.”
It added: “The primary thoughts of everyone at the club are with the Srivaddhanaprabha family and the families of all those on board at this time of unspeakable loss.
“In Khun Vichai, the world has lost a great man. A man of kindness, of generosity and a man whose life was defined by the love he devoted to his family and those he so successfully led.
“Leicester City was a family under his leadership. It is as a family that we will grieve his passing and maintain the
pursuit of a vision for
the club that is now his legacy.”
Yesterday, as thousands of fans left flowers at a makeshift shrine outside the King Power Stadium, witnesses praised the pilot for guiding the stricken aircraft away from the 32,000-seater ground.
The chopper appeared to develop engine trouble shortly after taking off from the pitch at about 8.30pm following City’s match against West Ham.
More than 1000 staff, guests and members of the media were still inside the ground. One said: “If it had hit the stadium or even landed near the entrance, who knows what would’ve happened.
“The pilot probably saved hundreds of lives. It’s still a tragedy but it could have been much, much worse.”
The copter crashed on wasteland nearby and burst into flames. Two police officers tried to rescue the victims by smashing windows.
Sky Sports News cameraman Dan Cox, who was in the car park, said: “The pilot was heroic and the two police officers in front of me, who also tried to help, they are heroes too.”
Several Leicester players were still in the stadium. One witness claimed keeper Kasper Schmeichel tried to run to the scene to give aid.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch are leading the probe to find out why the £6million twin-engine chopper crashed.
It was flying to Luton, where Srivaddhanaprabha was due to catch a private jet to Bangkok.
His son Top, chief executive of King Power International – the duty-free giants founded by Srivaddhanaprabha – was last night flying to the UK.
Srivaddhanaprabha, a father of four, bought Leicester in 2010 and became chairman in February 2011.
His investment helped the club become shock Premier League champions in 2016.