{"id":289711,"date":"2023-09-06T08:04:15","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T08:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=289711"},"modified":"2023-09-06T08:04:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T08:04:15","slug":"leicester-helicopter-pilots-final-words-before-sudden-fireball-killed-chairman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/soccer\/leicester-helicopter-pilots-final-words-before-sudden-fireball-killed-chairman\/","title":{"rendered":"Leicester helicopter pilot’s final words before sudden fireball killed chairman"},"content":{"rendered":"
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    The helicopter pilot who was killed alongside former Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha almost saved the life of the Thai billionaire.<\/p>\n

    Srivaddhanaprabha and the pilot were among five on board the helicopter when it departed the King Power Stadium in 2018 – heading for London Stansted.<\/p>\n

    Pilot Eric Swaffer, 53, shouted "I\u2019ve no idea what\u2019s going on" as the helicopter spun around five times within 14 seconds as it plummeted from 430ft in the air over a busy public car park. Amazingly, Eric was almost able to save all of those on board.<\/p>\n

    The experienced pilot managed to perfectly perform every emergency action, and by pulling the collective control he was able to cushion the impact.<\/p>\n

    READ MORE: <\/b>Fabrizio Romano leaves Gary Lineker fuming over football club he admits supporting<\/b><\/p>\n

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    \u00a322 a month<\/p>\n

    An official report has ruled only one of the passengers was killed when the helicopter crashed. However, also on impact, the helicopter hit a half-metre-high concrete step – causing a significant fuel leak.<\/p>\n

    As a result, the other four passengers, including Eric and Srivaddhanaprabha, died while trying to escape the vehicle, which was now in flames.<\/p>\n

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    The Air Accident Investigations Branch published its 285-page document on the findings of the crash on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

    The AAIB ruled the crash was a result of a critical ball bearing fell apart, causing the tail rotor to turn out of control, which in turn caused the aircraft to spin. Peter Wirrell, who was part of the investigation, said: "There's no evidence at all of any problem until the bearing seized and control was lost." <\/p>\n

    He added Eric did the correct thing in bringing the aircraft down and then "pulling up" to cushion the force of the impact with the ground.<\/p>\n

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    The bearing was due to be serviced once the flight had reached 400 miles, however, the helicopter had only clocked 331 at the time of the accident flight.<\/p>\n

    The AAIB has made eight safety recommendations following the report, and they will now be passed to the European European Aviation Safety Agency.<\/p>\n