Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

An inquest into the deaths of five people killed when a Leonardo AW169 <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2018-10-29/first-aw169-crash-kills-five">helicopter crashed</a> at an English soccer stadium on Oct. 27, 2018, opened in Leicester today. In a hearing expected to run through January 31, a senior coroner and a jury will assess the causes of the deaths of Leicester City Football Club chairman Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha; fellow passengers Nusara Suknamai, Kaveporn Punpare, and Izabela Lechowicz; and pilot Eric Swaffer.
The inquest began three days after Khun Vichai’s family filed a lawsuit in England’s High Court against Leonardo, the helicopter's manufacturer, claiming £2.15 billion ($2.6 billion) in damages for his death. In a statement issued on January 10, Leonardo expressed its deepest sympathy for those who lost their lives, saying it will defend the claim and is considering the matter with legal advisers and insurers.
During the inquest, the coroner and jury will hear evidence from the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), emergency services providers, eyewitnesses, and families of those killed in the crash, which occurred as the AW169 departed the King Power stadium after a game. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aircraft-accident-report-aar-1-slash-2023-leonardo-aw169-g-vskp">AAIB report</a> published in September 2023 identified the main cause of the accident as failures in the tail rotor pitch control mechanism. The agency also made eight recommendations to EASA to address what it said were weaknesses in the certification process for large rotorcraft.
Following the accident, EASA issued <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2018-11-09/emergency-tail-rotor-ad-issued-aw169-aw189">airworthiness directives</a>&nbsp;requiring inspections of tail rotors on both the AW169 and larger AW189 helicopters to ensure correct installation of the servo actuators. Leonardo has also issued multiple service bulletins addressing the issues identified in the AAIB accident report.

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