It was not possible for the pilot to recover from the tail rotor failure of a helicopter that crashed and killed Leicester City football club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in 2018, Britain's air accident investigator said on Wednesday. Pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz and two members of Vichai's staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, were also killed in the crash on Oct. 27, 2018, about 30 minutes after takeoff outside the King Power Stadium in the central English city of Leicester. Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch has said the helicopter was yawing uncontrollably and descending rapidly at a low altitude near buildings at night after the tail rotor failed. The tail rotor is designed to counteract the rotation of a helicopter's main rotor to prevent the aircraft from spinning out of control. The investigation found that in the prevailing circumstances, the loss of yaw control was irrecoverable, the AAIB said in its final report. The pilot managed to land softly enough to survive the impact, only for four of the five people on board to survive, according to post-mortem examinations. However, their reported injuries would have stopped them from being able to escape from the helicopter without external assistance, given the position in which it came to rest. Susan Whelan, Leicester City's chief executive, welcomed the report's release in the hope it will contribute positively to the continued development of future aircraft standards and safety. We commend the extensive and detailed body of work carried out by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Ms. Whelan said in a statement. As we near our fifth anniversary of the crash, the families and loved ones of Khun Vichai, Kaveporn, Nusara, Eric and Izabela remain always in our thoughts, as those we lost remain always in our hearts. The helicopter was on its left side and its fuel tanks were damaged, leading to a major leak that ignited quickly, according to the report. Police officers arrived in less than a minute, but were unable to break the windscreen of the aircraft with their batons and other handheld equipment. The fire killed those onboard, the report said. The pilots discovered problems with the bearings in the tail rotor of the Leonardo LDOF.MI AW169 helicopter, which began a sequence of failures leading to the crash. Italy's Leonardo has since issued 16 service bulletins for the model, including additional inspection requirements, the report said. Litigation specialists Stewarts, representing the families of Vichai, Swaffer and Lechowicz, said the report showed there was nothing the pilot could have done to prevent the crash. Stewarts said that legal action had already begun in Italy against Leonardo on behalf of the families of Swaffer and Lechowicz and Vichai's families. I am deeply saddened by the course of events, the son of Vichai, Aiyawatt, said in a statement. Almost five years after my father's death, this report provides substantial evidence against Leonardo. Leonardo's response was not immediately response to a request for comment outside of normal business hours. The AAIB report said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency also published nine airworthiness directives for Leonardo's AW169 and AW189 models. The final report also included eight additional recommendations to EASA, including changes to its certification requirements and the way it assesses and mitigates against potential catastrophic failures. EASA could not be reached for comment outside normal business hours.