Latest news with #helicopterSafety
BBC News
11-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Action needed after Leicester City crash, says coroner
Urgent action must be taken to address concerns about helicopter rules after a crash killed five people near Leicester City's stadium, a coroner football club's chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, fellow passengers Kaveporn Punpare and Nusara Suknamai, pilot Eric Swaffer and Mr Swaffer's partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz all died in the crash on 27 October 2018.A prevention of future deaths report was sent to the European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after an inquest into the Prof Catherine Mason said current aviation rules may not adequately prevent crucial parts from wearing out prematurely and cause failures. Part makers may not receive all the detailed flight and system test data from manufacturers, so they cannot fully check if they are safe, the coroner Mason said concerns were raised about the lack of clear rules on how long some important helicopter parts should last and how they should be inspected, especially for aircraft already in coroner wrote of worries that helicopter makers are not currently required by regulations to thoroughly check critical parts after removal from service, which could help catch problems highlighted concerns raised during the inquest about the lack of clear rules for calculating stresses on key helicopter parts and the need for better standards to ensure ongoing report pointed to "failure modes analysis at a system level".The coroner wrote: "In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths, and I believe that each of EASA and the CAA have power to take such action."On October 27 2018, after a match between Leicester City and West Ham, the Leonardo AW169 helicopter spun out of control after it took off from the helicopter began to spin when Mr Swaffer tried to do a right-hand turn over the stadium to take Khun Vichai and the other passengers to Stansted Airport, an inquest jury previously Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report found that the helicopter began uncontrollably spinning when a bearing in the tail rotor "seized" after its lubrication broke down, jurors were aircraft landed on its left-hand side on a 1.6ft (0.5m) concrete step, causing a fuel leak which ignited and "rapidly" engulfed the helicopter in jury of 11 people, who heard evidence over two weeks, concluded that the deaths were of the five victims, including Khun Vichai, died due to smoke inhalation and it was likely they would have survived their injuries if the fire had not started, it was cause of Ms Lechowicz's death was given as "significant" head and chest injuries, and she would have died "extremely quickly" after the helicopter crashed into the ground.
The Independent
10-06-2025
- The Independent
Coroner says urgent action needed on helicopter rules after Leicester City crash
Urgent action must be taken to address concerns about helicopter rules after a crash which killed five people near Leicester City's stadium, a coroner said. The football club's former owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, referred to as Khun Vichai, was killed with the helicopter's pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner and co-pilot Izabela Lechowicz, and passengers Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare. A prevention of future deaths report was sent to the European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after an inquest, warning of concerns about gaps in safety rules which risks more helicopter crashes. Coroner Professor Catherine Mason expressed concerns that current aviation rules may not adequately prevent crucial parts from wearing out prematurely, which can cause failures leading to crashes. Part makers may not receive all the detailed flight and system test data from manufacturers, so they cannot fully check if they are safe, the coroner wrote. Prof Mason said concerns were raised about the lack of clear rules on how long some important helicopter parts should last and how they should be inspected, especially for aircraft already in use. The coroner wrote of worries that helicopter makers are not currently required by regulations to thoroughly check critical parts after removal from service, which could help catch problems early. Prof Mason highlighted concerns raised during the inquest about the lack of clear rules for calculating stresses on key helicopter parts and the need for better standards to ensure ongoing safety. Her report pointed to 'failure modes analysis at a system level'. The coroner wrote: 'In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths, and I believe that each of EASA and the CAA have power to take such action.' On October 27 2018, after a match between Leicester City and West Ham, the Leonardo AW169 helicopter spun out of control after it took off from the pitch. The helicopter began to spin when Mr Swaffer tried to do a right-hand turn over the stadium to take Khun Vichai and the other passengers to Stansted Airport, an inquest jury previously heard. An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report found that the helicopter began uncontrollably spinning when a bearing in the tail rotor 'seized' after its lubrication broke down, jurors were told. The aircraft landed on its left-hand side on a 0.5m concrete step, causing a fuel leak which ignited and 'rapidly' engulfed the helicopter in flames. The jury of 11 people, who heard evidence over two weeks, concluded that the deaths were accidental. Four of the five victims, including Khun Vichai, died due to smoke inhalation and it was likely they would have survived their injuries if the fire had not started, it was heard. The cause of Ms Lechowicz's death was given as 'significant' head and chest injuries, and she would have died 'extremely quickly' after the helicopter crashed into the ground.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NYC helicopter tours would be banned under new federal bill –proposed a month after fatal Hudson River crash: ‘Owe it to the victims'
Helicopter tours around New York City would be banned under a federal bill recently introduced by local Congress members — less than a month after a fatal crash killed a Spanish family and their pilot. The proposed bipartisan Improving Helicopter Safety Act — introduced May 5 by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) — would bar all 'non-essential' helicopters within a 20-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty. The bill — targeting flights used for recreation, tourism and luxury commuting – was introduced after the tragic crash in the Hudson River that killed a tourist mom, dad and their three young kids, as well as the pilot, April 10. The legislation would take effect 60 days after being signed into law. 'While we have consistently worked to address the impact of non-essential helicopters on our communities, last month's tragic crash should be a clarion call for every level of government to take action on helicopter safety,' Menendez said in a statement. 'Rising congestion of non-essential helicopters, coupled with concerning safety records of air tourism operators, are causing a direct threat to public safety. 'Along with my colleagues from New Jersey and New York, we're doing what is necessary to prevent tragedies like this from happening again,' the rep said. Choppers that would still be allowed to fly around the city under the bill include those used by police, disaster response, medical and other emergency crews and those employed for research, news and film. The Big Apple sightseeing company New York Helicopter Tours shut down days after the deadly crash involving one of its choppers. New York Helicopter Tours CEO Michael Roth confirmed to The Post that his company was ceasing operations at the demand of the Federal Aviation Administration. The doomed helicopter was on its eighth flight of the day when it broke apart in the air and crashed into the Hudson, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The last inspection date for the chopper was March 1. After the crash, US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) applauded the move by the FAA but noted, 'much work remains to be done.' Schumer said the FAA must conduct more inspections of tourist helicopter companies and consider other questions about the industry going forward. The grassroots organization Stop The Chop, which has sought for years to ground the city's roughly 30,000 tourist helicopter flights over environmental impacts and noise, hailed the federal bill. The proposal is 'common sense federal legislation that will, when passed, finally put an end to the dangerous helicopter conditions in the New York metropolitan area,' the group said in a statement. Last month, the New York City Council passed a bill banning non-essential helicopter flights from city-owned heliports unless they meet FAA noise standards, although the law won't take effect until December 2029. Supporters of a tourist-chopper ban argue that the tragic incident last month wasn't an isolated incident, with at least 38 fatalities tied to helicopter crashes in New York City since 1977, according to The Associated Press. 'It was the latest in a long line of preventable tragedies in the New York metropolitan region's increasingly crowded and poorly regulated airspace,' Nadler said. 'For far too long, non-essential helicopter flights have endangered public safety and shattered the peace of our neighborhoods. We owe it to the victims, and to every resident living beneath these flight paths, to put safety first and prevent future disasters.' — Additional reporting by David Propper
