The widow of an investment banker killed in a helicopter crash in the Andes launched legal action against his employer today, accusing it of failing to ensure his safety.
Tomas Dusek, 37, a father-of-two from Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, was one of 12 passengers and two crew killed as the Sikorksy S58 crashed into a mountainside and burst into flames.
He had been on a business trip to survey a river in Peru for Mayfair-based StormHarbour Securities.
An inquest last month heard the helicopter firm hired by StormHarbour had been previously reprimanded over safety. The pilot was involved in a similar crash in 2005 in which two people died.
On the day of the accident in June last year, Mr Dusek, who had been working on a potential hydroelectric project, was persuaded to take off despite bad weather and fading light. Widow Angela paid tribute to a “loving and cherished husband” and “wonderful father”.
She said: “We expected the helicopter to be safe, not that he would be putting his life at risk and leaving us devastated by his death.”
Thirty-seven minutes after take-off, pilot Alfredo Lozano changed course to avoid bad weather, and the helicopter slammed into the side of 16,000ft Mama Rosa mountain. It took two days to find the crash site and three more to recover the bodies.
Investigators blamed Mr Lozano and helicopter firm Heli-Cusco for “inadequate flight handling and handling operational risk under bad weather conditions during the last minutes of daylight”.
James Healy-Pratt, of law firm Stewarts, representing Mr Dusek’s family, said: “This was a shoestring operation with a deficient safety ethos.”
He said litigation had begun against StormHarbour for allegedly failing to investigate and ensure a safe flight operator was chosen. StormHarbour declined to comment. Buckinghamshire coroner Richard Hulett recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
