Love story behind the that stole the life of
IT WAS the deadly crash that killed five people and has been dubbed one of the “worst moments” in the history of the Premier League.
Now the sister of one of the women in the Leicester City helicopter tragedy has opened up for the first time about the untold love story behind the disaster that broke the hearts of players and fans.
Kate Lechowicz reveals that her sister Izabela was engaged to be married to hero pilot Eric Swaffer and was found linking arms with him after the state-of-art aircraft plummeted to the ground, killing the couple, the club’s billionaire owner and two of his staff.
She also said that Swaffer was so safety conscious even Prince William, who had been flown by him, had commented on his caution.
“Eric and Izabela were the perfect couple and they never had any doubt that they were going to be together for ever,” says Kate, 35. “They were engaged and he had given her a beautiful diamond engagement ring. She wore it until her last day.
“Eric and Izabela had their arms entwined when they found them. It shows what we always knew – that they were soul
‘Prince William made fun of Eric’s checklist’
mates and destined to be together. The past year has been so difficult for everyone in our family but we can take some comfort from the fact that they had each other in those final moments, as terrible as they must have been.”
Last Sunday marked exactly one year since the crash that killed Eric, 53, Izabela, 46, Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 60, as well as two of his staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare.
IT worker Kate, from London, reveals that her sister was scared of heights but had fallen in love with flying and was looking forward to becoming an aunt before her dreams were cruelly crushed.
The couple’s nephew Theo was born a month after the tragedy and given the middle name Eric in tribute.
Eric, who lived with Izabela in Camberley, Surrey, was hailed as a hero after managing to steer the stricken aircraft away from the King Power Stadium, a Holiday Inn hotel and a National Grid building – saving countless lives.
The Leicester City chairman’s Agustawestland helicopter, which was only two years old, hit the ground less than a minute after taking off from the Premier League club’s pitch at 8.37pm following a late game on October 27 when the team had drawn 1-1 withwest Ham.
Billionaire Thai boss Vichai was travelling to Luton Airport where he was due to take a private jet back to Bangkok and Eric was one of his regular pilots.
Izabela was also a qualified pilot and had just received her helicopter licence but, although seated next to him, was not at the controls at the time.
The Air Accident Investigations Branch found the crash was most likely caused by a pin that had come loose in the tail rotor control mechanism, although a final conclusion will not be published until next year.
The faulty pin disconnected the pilot’s pedals and sent the helicopter into an uncontrollable right turn that caused it to spin and then crash into a car park where it burst into flames.
Prince William, who was a friend of the Leicester City chairman, wife Kate and their three children were due to fly on the doomed aircraft a short time after the disaster.
Izabela’s sister Kate reveals that she was comforted by William and Kate after the crash and the Duke of Cambridge told her how he had noticed Eric’s obsessive commitment to aviation safety during their previous flights together.
“William said he used to make fun of all long checklist procedures he would run through and would ask him, ‘Can we finally fly now?’,” says Kate.
Eric was a former easyjet pilot who spent his early years in Brighton.
Izabela, meanwhile, grew up in a Polish village close to the Czech border with her teacher mother Krystyna and engineer father Zbigniew.
She moved to London, aged 25, in 1997, to follow her dream of travelling and the same year she was swept off her feet by her future fiance.
“She had a dream to travel but she was not sure how she would do it,” says Kate.
“She was working in administration at an English language school in Golders Green, north London, at