Coroner says urgent action needed on helicopter rules after Leicester City crash
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.
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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Moment 'Gangster granny' who used family to run UK-wide £80m drug empire is caught
Deborah Mason, 65, headed a family-run criminal enterprise smuggling Class A drugs across Britain's major cities and recruited four of her children before being busted Shocking footage shows the moment a 65-year-old 'gangster granny' is arrested for running a UK-wide drugs smuggling operation. Deborah Mason headed a family-run criminal enterprise supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine over seven months across many of Britain's major cities, spending her ill-gotten gains on designer goods and her cat. The drugs had an estimated wholesale value of between £23 million to £35 million, and a street value of £80 million. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, this week Mason was sent down for 20 years along with several other members of her family, including three of her daughters and her son. 'Gangster granny' spent money on designer items for cats Under her supervision, groups of couriers collected packages of imported cocaine and drove them all over London, as well as Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff, between April and November 2023. Mason, from North London, spent her profits on designer goods, and was looking to go Turkey to have cosmetic surgery. She also bought herself an expensive Bengal cat named 'Ghost', which she lavished with a £400 Gucci collar and nine-carat gold tag. Deborah Mason, dubbed "gangster granny" by the Metropolitan Police, directed other members of the gang and was in contact with an upstream supplier called Bugsy. She took part in 20 trips, delivering 356kg of cocaine, and also made trips to deliver and collect cash. Mason was in "close contact" with the upstream supplier using an encrypted app, which had auto-deletion of messages set up to keep the operation secret. Prosecutor Charlotte Hole said: "She (Deborah Mason) recruited both her family members - her sister and her children - as well as partners and friends of her children, to a network of at least 10 individuals." Judge Philip Shorrock noted that several of the women involved in the operation have young children. Received £50,000 in benefits while living life of crime The court heard Mason was in receipt of in excess of £50,000 from benefits during the period covered in her trial, while acting as ringleader of the gang and spending lavishly on luxuries. When Mason was on holiday in Dubai, her daughter Roeseanne Mason, who made seven trips delivering about 166kg of cocaine, stepped in to the directing role, the court heard. The prosecution said Roeseanne Mason collected cash for her mother and also "provided childcare so that others could work". Another one of Mason's daughters, mother-of-two Demi Bright, made a single trip in August 2023, which involved 60kg of cocaine. She took her children with her on the two-day trip, which involved an overnight stay in a hotel. After agreeing to deliver more drugs in November 2023, she later dropped out. Demi is thought to have stepped back from the drug plot after her sister Roeseanne Mason was arrested, and the court heard she said she wanted to "go straight" but continued to help her mother in the organisation and was "aware of its scale". Son Reggie Bright's 12 trips as part of the gang delivered at least 90kg, and there were times he collected wages for the group. He usually took trips with his partner, Demi Kendall, 31, telling her "not to get the hump because we need the money", the court heard. Sentenced to a combined 106 years in prison Six women, a man and Deborah Mason were sentenced to a combined 106 years and six months' in prison on Friday. Mason, 65, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Woolwich Crown Court on April 28 and was sentenced at the same court to 20 years' in prison. Roseanne Mason, 29, of Canonbury, north London, and Demi Bright, 30, of Ashford, Kent, were each sentenced to 11 years. Lillie Bright, 26, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years, and Demi Kendall, 31, of Staplehurst, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years and six months imprisonment. Reggie Bright, 24, of Staplehurst, Kent, was sentenced to 15 years, and Tina Golding, 66, of Ashford, Kent, was jailed for 10 years. Anita Slaughter, 44, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. After sentencing, Crown Prosecution Service specialist prosecutor Robert Hutchinson said: "This was no ordinary family. Instead of nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason recruited them to establish an extraordinarily profitable criminal enterprise that would ultimately put them all behind bars." Met Detective Constable Jack Kraushaar, who led the investigation, described it as "a sophisticated operation". He added: "The group were sucked into criminality, selfishly attracted by the financial benefits of the drug-dealing to fund lavish lifestyles. "They were unaware we were coming for them and this sentencing should act as a deterrent to those who think about committing this type of crime."
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
'Gangster gran' who got cat a £400 Gucci collar jailed for £80,000,000 drug plot
A family crime mob masterminded by a 65-year-old 'gangster granny' has been jailed for more than 100 years for supplying up to £80 million worth of cocaine. Deborah Mason, dubbed 'Queen Bee', recruited relatives into the 'extraordinarily profitable' operation which saw nearly a tonne of cocaine shipped across the UK between April and November 2023. The couriers, each earning £1,000 a day, collected packages of imported cocaine and drove them all over London, as well as Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff. Ringleader Mason took photos of wads of cash and bragged of making £90,000 from the plot, while raking in £50,000 in benefits at the same time. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video She spent her profits on designer goods, including a £400 Gucci collar and lead for her cat, and was looking to visit Turkey to have cosmetic surgery. Young mothers who were part of the gang took their young children to pick-ups involving vast quantities of drugs, Woolwich Crown Court heard. Mason, who directed other members of the gang and was in contact with an upstream supplier called Bugsy, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Judge Philip Shorrock told her: 'You were effectively the site foreman working under the direction of a site manager. 'You recruited members of your own family – as a mother you should have been setting an example for your children and not corrupting them.' The judge noted that several of the women have young children but said their involvement in the drug network only 'makes it easier for unscrupulous' dealers to seek to recruit mothers. Earlier, prosecutor Charlotte Hole said: 'All of the offenders participated in a conspiracy which involved the nationwide supply of around a metric tonne of cocaine, collected usually from areas near ports such as Harwich, and delivered across the country to Bristol, Cardiff, Sheffield, Bradford and so on.' She added: 'Everyone involved had an expectation of significant financial advantage, at least £1,000 per trip, and it is one of the most significant parts of the motivation of the conspiracy. 'They all had an awareness of the scale of the operation.' Deborah Mason played a 'leading role' and was 'top of the organisation and provided cocaine for the upstream supplier known as Bugsy'. She took part in 20 trips, delivering 356kg of cocaine, and also made trips to deliver and collect cash. She was in 'close contact' with the upstream supplier using an encrypted app, which had auto-deletion of messages set up, 'designed to keep the operation secret and messages deleted'. Ms Hole said: 'She (Deborah Mason) recruited both her family members – her sister and her children – as well as partners and friends of her children, to a network of at least 10 individuals.' She also organised those who drove for her, staying in phone contact from the early hours to make sure they were up, and checking in on them during the day. She did not use pressure or coercion to woo her family into the gang, as they were 'motivated by financial benefit'. The court heard she was in receipt of in excess of £50,000 per year in benefit income during the conspiracy period, while acting as ringleader and spending lavishly on luxuries. Ms Hole said: '(You) will recollect the messages seen during the trial with reference to her photographing large amounts of cash, and referring to making £90,000 by the end of the year, as well as her lavish spending on designer goods and expressed intention to travel to Turkey to have cosmetic surgery procedures.' When Mason was on holiday in Dubai, her daughter Roeseanne Mason, who made seven trips delivering about 166kg of cocaine, stepped in to the directing role, the court heard. The prosecution said Roeseanne Mason collected cash for her mother and also 'provided childcare so that others could work'. Mother-of-two Demi Bright made a single trip in August 2023 which involved 60kg of cocaine. She took her children with her on the two-day trip, which involved an overnight stay in a hotel. She agreed to deliver more drugs in November 2023 but dropped out. It appears she stepped back from the drug plot after her sister Roeseanne Mason was arrested, 'saying she wanted to go straight but she continued to help her mother in the organisation and was aware of its scale', the court heard. The prosecution said that 'most significantly' she recruited Anita Slaughter to the gang, whom she offered work on a daily basis. Lillie Bright was involved in 20 trips involving 195kg of cocaine. Her partner Chloe Hodgkin, 23, of Wye, Kent, is awaiting the birth of her baby and is to be sentenced at a date to be set. Ms Hole said: 'The two of them took Lillie Bright's son with them, who was two at the time, in a car with cardboard boxes containing kilogrammes of cocaine.' Lillie Bright also had 35g of cocaine she offered for sale, the court heard. Reggie Bright's 12 trips as part of the gang delivered at least 90kg and there were times he collected wages for the group. He usually took trips with his partner, Demi Kendall, 31, telling her 'not to get the hump because we need the money', the court heard. He had been a cocaine user and an addict since his teens and had a brain injury as a result of his misuse. He claimed he did not know where the drugs were coming from, but encrypted messages on the Signal app show this was not true. Ms Hole said: 'He used the Signal alias Frank and was clearly known to, and in direct contact with, the upstream supplier.' Demi Kendall carried out 15 trips involving 98kg of cocaine, and 'often' took her toddler with her in a car. She also recruited her friend, and later, talking about the plot, told her 'you'd get years if u got stopped with the amount that we carry – serious jail time'. Tina Golding made four trips and delivered at least 75kg of cocaine. She collected at least £10,000 in wages. Anita Slaughter took part in a single trip, which amounted to 55kg across four drops, in October 2023. Roseanne Mason, 29, of Canonbury, north London, and Demi Bright, 30, of Ashford, Kent, were each sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Lillie Bright, 26, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years, and Demi Kendall, 31, of Staplehurst, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years and six months imprisonment. Reggie Bright, 24, of Staplehurst, Kent, was sentenced to 15 years, and Tina Golding, 66, of Ashford, Kent, was jailed for 10 years. Anita Slaughter, 44, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. After sentencing Crown Prosecution Service specialist prosecutor Robert Hutchinson said: 'This was no ordinary family. More Trending 'Instead of nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason recruited them to establish an extraordinarily profitable criminal enterprise that would ultimately put them all behind bars.' Met Detective Constable Jack Kraushaar, who led the investigation, described it as 'a sophisticated operation'. He added: 'The group were sucked into criminality, selfishly attracted by the financial benefits of the drug-dealing to fund lavish lifestyles. 'They were unaware we were coming for them and this sentencing should act as a deterrent to those who think about committing this type of crime.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Plane forced to land unexpectedly after passenger tries to open door mid-air MORE: Coward who murdered ex's 'gentle' dad in 'revenge' for break-up jailed for life MORE: What is devil's breath? The truth behind the 'world's scariest drug'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Gangster granny who used family to run £80m drug empire and splashed out on designer accessories for her cat is jailed for 20 years
A gangster granny who ran a £80million drug empire with her family transporting cocaine around the UK was jailed for 20 years yesterday. Deborah Mason, 65, revelled in her status as a cocaine kingpin, instructing her own family, whom she recruited as drug runners, to call her 'Gangster Debbs' and 'Queen Bee'. The 65-year-old recruited her sister, four of her children, their partners and friends to ferry around a metric tonne of cocaine worth £80million from ports such as Harwich to make deliveries in Bristol, Cardiff, London, Leicester, Birmingham, Rotherham, Sheffield and Bradford, paying relatives £1,000 a trip. Yesterday the 10-strong family gang from Islington, North London were jailed for more than 100 years at Woolwich Crown Court. Prosecutor Charlotte Hole told the court that in many of the drug runs between April and November 2023, Mason brought her grandchildren as young as two who sat in a child's car seat amongst cardboard boxes stuffed with 5kg blocks of cocaine. With the profits of her drug empire, the mother-of-seven splashed out on lavish holidays to Dubai and Bahrain, designer clothing, handbags and a £400 Gucci cat collar and lead with 9ct gold engraved name tag for her beloved Bengal cat called Ghost. The grandmother, who was claiming over £50,000 a year in benefits, planned to make £90,000 in profits by the end of the year which she intended to pay for plastic surgery in Turkey. But when detectives raided Mason's £1.5milliion terraced home in Islington, they found the self-proclaimed gangster gran not in her designer clothing, but sitting in her nightie in stunned silence on the toilet. The court heart that such was Mason's greed, she kept a share of her family's 'wages' and even enlisted her drug-addicted son Reggie who had suffered a brain injury as a result of a cocaine overdose. Mason made at least 20 drug deliveries, with officers following her from her Tufnell Park home to pick up shipments from Harwich Port at 6am before the cocaine blocks were divided amongst supermarket bags for life and sent to her offspring. When police raided her children's homes, they found bags of drugs hidden in designer Chloe bags and bundles of cash. But some of the gang members claimed that the trips were just random day trips chosen by their toddlers playing with the sat nav. Following an 11-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court, the gang were convicted of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs in April. Judge Philip Shorrock said Mason played a 'leading role' in the distribution of a tonne of cocaine across the UK, telling her: 'As a mother you should have been setting an example to your children, not corrupting them.' Pictured are Demi Kendall and Tina Golding who were jailed for 13-and-a-half years and 10 years respectively Lillie Bright and Demi Bright were sentenced to 13 and 11 years in jail respectively Reggie Bright and Anita Slaughter received 15 and 13 years respectively The gang were sentenced to a combined 106 years and six months' imprisonment. Mason was jailed for 20 years, her daughters Roseanne Mason, 29, and Demi Bright, 30, received 11 years, while her youngest daughter Lillie Bright, 26, was sentenced to 13 years. Mason's son Reggie Bright, 24, was sentenced to 15 years, his partner Demi Kendall, 31, received a 13-and-a-half year sentence and a family friend Anita Slaughter, 44 also received 13 years. Mason's elder sister Tina Golding, 66, was also jailed for 10 years. Met Detective Constable Jack Kraushaar said: 'This was a sophisticated operation which was extremely profitable for those involved. 'Following months of work by the Met Police to relentlessly pursue these perpetrators, we were able to arrest and eventually convict them, preventing more drugs flooding streets across the UK which leads to violence, antisocial behaviour and misery for communities. 'The group were sucked into criminality, selfishly attracted by the financial benefits of the drug-dealing to fund lavish lifestyles. 'They were unaware we were coming for them and this sentencing should act as a deterrent to those who think about committing this type of crime.' Pictured: The expensive collar Mason ordered for her beloved cat Pictured: A small pet leash worth £205 Mason ordered for her beloved cat Robert Hutchinson, Specialist Prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'This was no ordinary family. Instead of nurturing and caring for her relatives, Deborah Mason recruited them to establish an extraordinarily profitable criminal enterprise that would ultimately put them all behind bars. 'The CPS worked closely with the police from the earliest opportunity to make sure we had ample evidence to prosecute them for the full extent of their actions. 'We reviewed thousands of messages and other digital evidence that not only revealed incriminating messages sent between them, but also a significant pattern of deleting messages, helping to prove that they all knew exactly what they were doing.'
