Episode 273: G-VSKP (2018 Leicester Helicopter Crash)

·1 hr 20 min·5 clips

Investigators discover the tail rotor bearing was a catastrophic single point of failure the manufacturer knew about but didn't fix.

The episode begins with the hosts acknowledging recent aviation incidents before focusing on the Leicester helicopter crash of October 27, 2018. They describe the helicopter as a Leonardo AW169, used for private transport, which crashed after taking off from the stadium following a football match. The pilot, Eric Swofford, had extensive experience, and the passengers included the owner of Leicester City Football Club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The hosts narrate the flight's earlier legs from Fair Oaks Airport to London Heliport, then to the training ground, and finally to the stadium. They detail the takeoff, where the helicopter climbed, entered a turn, and then began spinning uncontrollably to the right at up to 209 degrees per second before crashing into a car park and bursting into flames. The investigation involved multiple international agencies and recovered data from a damaged flight recorder. Analysis pinpointed the failure to a duplex bearing in the tail rotor assembly, which seized due to rolling contact fatigue. This caused the control shaft to rotate, leading to the detachment of a locking nut and loss of yaw control. The bearing had only 330 service hours against an expected 2400, with failure accelerated by high operational loads and speeds. The hosts explain the technical details of bearing failure, including grease degradation and cage wear. They highlight investigative findings that the bearing and locking nut were identified as catastrophic single points of failure during certification, but no further analysis was required. Regulatory shortcomings meant the helicopter manufacturer did not share load data with the bearing supplier, and there were no specific requirements for rolling contact fatigue testing. The episode concludes with safety recommendations from the AAIB, urging stricter certification rules, better data sharing, and post-removal part assessments, alongside emergency airworthiness directives issued post-accident.

As heard by us

A careful crash investigation that turns bearing failure into a clear chain of cause and effect.

A helicopter crash at Leicester City's King Power Stadium is handled as a careful, methodical account of what went wrong just after takeoff. It works because it treats the investigation as a chain of evidence, moving from the wreck to bearing wear, load testing, grease…

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Why you'd press play

Want a crash investigation that starts with takeoff and ends inside a seized bearing?

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