Anger as Greeks blame British holidaymaker for helicopter death
Friends of 22-year-old killed by rotor blade reject claims he was on phone and ignored warnings
THE friends of a British holidaymaker killed by a helicopter rotor in Greece last night expressed their fury as authorities appeared to blame the victim for the incident.
Jack Fenton, 22, died instantly when he was hit by the spinning blade as he disembarked from the aircraft after it flew him and three friends from Mykonos to Spata, near Athens International Airport.
The group had been due to return home to the UK on Monday night following a trip to the holiday island where they were celebrating Mr Fenton’s birthday.
The helicopter pilot and two other people were yesterday arrested over the incident, according to state media.
However, Greek authorities claimed the accident had occurred when the group were being escorted to a private lounge and Mr Fenton ran back in the direction of the helicopter.
He had his phone to his ear and ignored ground crew who were telling him to stop, Ioannis Kandyllis, president of Greece’s committee for aviation accidents, told the Daily Mail.
The account was last night disputed by friends who had been travelling with Mr Fenton and saw him die.
Jack Stanton-gleaves, 20, Max Savage, 20, and James Yeabsley, 19, were described by a family source as “traumatised” and had been due to fly home last night.
Mr Stanton-gleaves said in a statement: “No instructions were given when exiting the helicopter and no one escorted us to the lounge. All they did was open the doors for us.
“We disembarked on our own and no one stopped Jack from going to the rear of the helicopter. None of us reached the lounge before the accident happened.
“I’ve heard people say Jack was on his phone and ran back to the helicopter, and this is totally untrue. He was not on his phone and why he turned towards the rear of the helicopter I don’t know.”
His father, Robin Stanton-gleaves, who is the owner and chairman of National League football club Bromley FC, and has flown to Greece, said there was still “a lot more that needs to be corrected” regarding the Greek accounts of Mr Fenton’s death.
Mr Fenton’s mother, Victoria, said the family had been left “completely devastated” by the loss of “the most wonderful boy”.
Speaking from her home in Tonbridge, Kent, she told Mailonline: “Jack and his friends had got a helicopter from Athens to Mykonos without any problems and so did the same again. They got a helicopter from Mykonos back to Athens.
“He had got off safely when it landed in Athens but for some reason went back behind the helicopter and it was the rear propeller which killed him. It was instant.
“He’d been out the night before but hadn’t had anything to drink all day yesterday except for water. He and his friends were all sober.”
Mr Fenton was a former pupil of the £36,000-a-year Sutton Valence school in Maidstone, Kent, before he went on to study at Oxford Brookes University.
At the time of his death, he was a junior account executive at a social media marketing firm.
James Thomas, the headmaster of Sutton Valence, said: “Our school was very sad to hear the tragic news about Jack this morning. He was a very popular member of the community, and we have sent our condolences to the family.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the incident.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”
A statement to the BBC from Mr Fenton’s employer, social media agency Ball Street Network in London, said: “Our team is in shock having just found out about this tragic news.
“Our love and thoughts are with Jack’s family and friends.”
‘I’ve heard people say Jack was on his phone and ran back to the helicopter, and this is totally untrue’