The Briton who was horrifically killed in Greece when he walked into a helicopter’s spinning rotor blade may have run back on to the tarmac towards the aircraft despite warnings to stop so he could take a selfie, Greek investigators have claimed.
Former public schoolboy Jack Fenton, 22, was struck when he walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engines were still engaged at 6.20pm in Athens yesterday, after flying back from the tourist hotspot of Mykonos with three friends.
Greek investigators said Fenton had left the helicopter with his three friends James Yeabsley, 19, former Bournemouth University student Max Savage, 20, and 20-year-old Jack Stanton Gleaves.
But after disembarking the helicopter, Fenton is believed to have returned without escort to the tarmac where the aircraft was still running and ignored warnings to stop, an investigator claimed.
‘All four passengers had disembarked and were escorted to a private lounge awaiting a private flight for London,’ said Ioannis Kandyllis, president of Greece’s committee for aviation accidents probing the incident.
‘But as they were in the lounge the victim broke away and returned to the tarmac rushing to the helicopter at a fast pace,’ Kandyllis claimed.
‘Witnesses we spoke to said he was had a phone to his ear and was walking fast to the aircraft, defying ground crew shouting to him “Stop!,’Stop!”
‘Within seconds the tragic accident occurred. It was horrific.’
According to local media, the Oxford Brookes student, who went to the £36,000-a-year Sutton Valence boarding school in Maidstone, Kent, was taking a selfie when he was hit by the high-speed rotor in the head.
Former public schoolboy Jack Fenton (pictured), 22, was said to have been using his mobile phone at the time of the accident last night
The young Briton horrifically killed in a helicopter accident in Athens may have been trying to take a selfie
Jack Fenton’s father, Miguel, is head of marketing, sales and PR at The Hop Farm, a 400-acre country park and visitor attraction in Beltring, near Tonbridge, Kent (pictured together)
The Oxford Brookes university student, who went to the £36,000-a-year Sutton Valence boarding school in Maidstone, Kent, reportedly walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engines were still engaged
Emergency services are pictured last night at the scene of the incident involving a man who died when a rear helicopter propeller hit him in Spata, near Athens, Greece
Pictured: The Bell 407 which was involved in the accident, with red police tape wrapped around the tail
The tourists had flown from Mykonos to the helipad in Spata and were due to take a private limousine to Eleftherios Venizelos airport
Emergency services were called to the private heliport on the outskirts of the Greek capital but the victim is thought to have been killed instantly.
Mr Kandyllis said that as a result of the accident Fenton’s parents, who were also returning on a separate helicopter, were advised to land at Athens International Airport.
‘There was no way we could have them land at the private airport (in Paiania), with the tarmac covered with their son’s remains.’
He said the pilot and the two ground crew members at the private heliodrome in Paiania, northeast of Athens, testified before a prosecutor, providing also detailed accounts to the committee investigating the causes of the unprecedented accident.
Mr Kandyllis said all safety regulations were followed in the landing of the Bell helicopter and disembarkation of its four passengers.
Aviation regulations require disembarkation to take place either when the helicopter’s rotors have completely stopped, or when expert crew accompanies passengers off.’
‘In this case, both left and right doors were used by passengers to disembark. They were all escorted safely to the seating lounge.
‘It is after, when the tragedy occurred.’
Mr Kandyllis said they were expected to retrieve the victim’s mobile phone to examine who he was contacting at the time of the accident and the reasons that led him to return to the helicopter
Athens-based Open TV reported that it is possible that the victim ‘was on a call or was trying to take a selfie when the accident happened.’
His parents were following in a second helicopter on a private charter from Mykonos to Athens as the group made their way home to the UK after a holiday.
The pilot who had landed and witnessed the shocking incident radioed to his colleague and warned him of what had transpired.
The man reportedly walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engines were still engaged and was struck by the aircraft’s tail rotor
Police sources did not reveal the family involved but it is understood they are extremely wealthy (police and emergency services are pictured at the scene last night)
Emergency services were called to the private heliport on the outskirts of Athens but the victim is thought to have been killed almost instantly (pictured: the scene today)
The pilot of the second helicopter chose to divert from the private airport in Spata and instead made an unscheduled landing at Athens International Airport to prevent Mr Fenton’s parents witnessing the scene of the tragic accident.
The family had intended to disembark at the Superior Air helipad before being chauffeured to Eleftherios Venizelos airport where they would board the family’s private jet for a return flight to the UK.
Today, Jack’s three young friends – Yeabsley, Savage and Stanton Gleaves – were on their way back to Britain in a private jet from Athens’ Spata airport as his family dealt with the aftermath of the tragedy. All three are believed to have been schoolfriends of Jack’s from Sutton Valence.
Jack Fenton’s father, Miguel, is head of marketing, sales and PR at The Hop Farm, a 400-acre country park and visitor attraction in Beltring, near Tonbridge, Kent.
A spokesperson at the Hop Farm told MailOnline: ‘This is a personal matter, nothing to do with the business and we have no comment.’
Until 1997 the farm was known as The Whitbread Hop Farm and was owned by the brewery and boasts the largest collection of oast houses in the world..
Police and aircraft investigators will focus on why Mr Fenton exited the aircraft while the rotors were still spinning.
The propellers tend to continue for around two minutes after the engine has been switched off, unless the pilot presses a button to stop them at around 50 seconds.
Pilots should thoroughly brief their passengers to stay inside until all movement has ceased, but the helicopter has no locks and no crew other than the pilot to shepherd the passengers.
The pilot and two airport officials have appeared before a prosecutor today, testifying over the potential charges of negligence.
Police sources did not reveal the family involved but it is understood they are extremely wealthy and were enjoying a holiday on the luxury Greek island of Mykonos (pictured)
Fenton’s friends who are all in their twenties also gave statements before returning to the UK.
The President of the Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica George Kaliakmanis told MailOnline: ‘To my knowledge the type of helicopter Bell 407 doesn’t lock from the inside.
‘So now the investigation will focus on the safety measures taken from the pilot. Did he tell them to wait or not?
‘There are two propellers on the helicopter. One that operates on 500 turns/second and one that operates at 2500 turns/second. These propellers run for about 2 minutes from the time he turns the engine off unless he presses a button which stops them at 50 seconds. Also keep in mind that the propellers are not visible because of the speed.’
Sources said the 115-mile trip in two helicopters would have cost more than £15,000.