Helicopter crash at King Power

[SJN-Fox]

Sky said it was pictures from their helicopter. The drone theory is a good one though. Something stopped that rotor from working.

 

[Volpone]

I know it's extremely unlikely but is there a possibility it collided with a drone?

On the way from the stadium towards Aylestone Road last night there were two police drones about a hundred feet up which one assumes are monitoring the crowds for safety and any disturbances.

One was safely brought down into an empty space in the grounds of the old electricity board offices where there was a police car, a male operator and a female who picked it up.

At the time I had two thoughts. Firstly that they were practising with it or doing some sort of trial. Don't know why they would monitor crowds so close to Aylestone Road where there has never been any trouble from my experience over the years.

My second thought was how safe were we? What if the operator lost control or the drone malfunctioned and fell on someone's head in the crowd? I did feel a bit of unease. Little did I know the event that would unfold one hour later.

 

[Brown Nose]

 

[KetteringPete2]

What an unbelievable and terribly sad thing to happen, feel so, so bad for the families involved. Couldn't even watch match of the day last night. Horrendous.

 

[LeeCovFox]

I know it's extremely unlikely but is there a possibility it collided with a drone?

On the way from the stadium towards Aylestone Road last night there were two police drones about a hundred feet up which one assumes are monitoring the crowds for safety and any disturbances.

One was safely brought down into an empty space in the grounds of the old electricity board offices where there was a police car, a male operator and a female who picked it up.

At the time I had two thoughts. Firstly that they were practising with it or doing some sort of trial. Don't know why they would monitor crowds so close to Aylestone Road where there has never been any trouble from my experience over the years.

My second thought was how safe were we? What if the operator lost control or the drone malfunctioned and fell on someone's head in the crowd? I did feel a bit of unease. Little did I know the event that would unfold one hour later.

If it was a drone it wasn’t a police one. They’ve confirmed it wasn’t in use at the time of the crash.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

I'm not sure about drones, but I know Police were concerned regarding safety. Horses and batons were out versus the WHU fans near the Symphony Rooms and it all looked very surreal. It was violent, there was a very strange and eerie feeling even then and this was just after the match. A dark day of dark incidences.

On a separate note, I hope Amartey is ok.

 

[Fox Fan]

I know it's extremely unlikely but is there a possibility it collided with a drone?

On the way from the stadium towards Aylestone Road last night there were two police drones about a hundred feet up which one assumes are monitoring the crowds for safety and any disturbances.

One was safely brought down into an empty space in the grounds of the old electricity board offices where there was a police car, a male operator and a female who picked it up.

At the time I had two thoughts. Firstly that they were practising with it or doing some sort of trial. Don't know why they would monitor crowds so close to Aylestone Road where there has never been any trouble from my experience over the years.

My second thought was how safe were we? What if the operator lost control or the drone malfunctioned and fell on someone's head in the crowd? I did feel a bit of unease. Little did I know the event that would unfold one hour later.

I remember after we played Derby a couple of years ago that on the walk back, Sky had a drone going up and down to quite a hight. However there was an operator standing below it and it obviously moved at quite a speed.

I would be very surprised if a professional drone operation wasn't aware of the helicopter taking off.

Something does seem off though I agree. Having just flown without issue to the stadium, then taking off and clearing the stadium. A sudden a total failure seems odd.

But it's not for us to speculate on that. I'm sure we'll know soon enough.

It's terrible terrible news .

 

[Suedeheadfox]

Sorry that my first post for some 15 years is on such a tragic occasion, I am gutted to my core by what has happened, nice to see the messages of support from other clubs coming in x

 

[Jeff]

 

[Mike - True Blue Tinter]

If eye witness reports are to be believed, about a mechanical ‘bang’ before the helicopter started spinning, there could have been a gearbox failure. That could result in the tail rotor stopped turning so the main rotor blades would cause the helicopter to spin. Loss of power to the main rotor would cause the helicopter to just drop with not enough height to have any chance of a controlled glide, even if this helicopter was built to allow that possibility. I would also imagine that someone who is worth 5billion+ would not skimp on maintenance so maybe a most unlikely breakdown. Either way if other reports are true that it exploded a few seconds after impact, the chances of anyone surviving are almost zero. An horrific tragedy that will affect all the families, the Club and fans worldwide forever. A dark day in our glorious history.

 

[Jeff]

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

There is one witness who said he there was clouds of smoke for a good two minutes before it burst into flames. Again it's hard to tell especially in the moment, adrenaline, shock, disbelief.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

This silence is so deafening.

 

[tedfoxxx]

There is one witness who said he there was clouds of smoke for a good two minutes before it burst into flames. Again it's hard to tell especially in the moment, adrenaline, shock, disbelief.

That tallies with the story about police trying to break the glass before having to get away but then a lot of other reports said it dropped to the ground and went bang immediately.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

Assuming there will be a full on investigation etc. Before we can even understand how and what went wrong it will be a very long time.

A very difficult journey ahead for all of us and most importantly the families of those affected.

Let's stick together.

 

[SJN-Fox]

Lots of love for the club on radio 5. Interview with Michael Appleton now.

 

[David Gwilliam]

Apologies if I am repeating what is already known as I have been away from Leicester and am only just catching up.

I rang a friend of mine who is a steward. He was on the pitch when the helicopter took off. He says that Vichai, the daughter and a Thai friend were on board but NOT Top or Jon Rudkin, Vichai had been laughing with the stewards as usual. My friend was chatting to one of the Thai finance people when it happened with a horrible crash. Kasper had been on the pitch and ran outside followed by others. There was no chance of anybody surviving.
Everybody was in tears. My friend (see thread entitled Roy Young -Respect) is 81 years old and this was the worst thing he had seen.
It must be especially devastating for Top who has lost a father and a sister.

 

[ThaiSweetChilli]

My friend Shailen flies with the pilot. He has confirmed he's passed away and he believes that his wife may have also been on the helicopter.

He has no reason to lie about something so tragic. I didn't ask how he found out but he has mentioned before about his former colleague who flies often with the owners.

This isn't me spreading rumours it's just passing on a very sad message from a friend.

 

[Graz]

I'm surprised that there's been no official news yet on who was involved in the accident.

I just hope that the families of those involved - or those who could potentially have been involved - have not been left waiting this long without knowing. I'd imagine they are all aware of the situation by this point, but the long time with no official news makes me wonder if there's been difficultly contacting relatives.

 

[Jeff]

Please can we not name anyone until there's been an official announcement. There may be family members who haven't yet been informed.