British tourist who was struck by the helicopter’s rotating rotor blade in Greece killed has been photographed smiling and posing on Mykonos with his friends just before his horrifying journey to Athens.
Jack Fenton (22 years old) was stunned when he walked alongside the Bell 407 helicopter at 6.20pm in Athens. This was after he flew back in the Bell 407 helicopter piloted Christos Fragagos and three of his friends from public schools.
The Greek investigation claimed that the Oxford Brooks student, who had safely disembarked to take a selfie and ran on the tarmac again, in spite of warnings by ground crews, ran into a whipping blade.
After giving statements, police released Jack Fragkopanagos and Spyros Atriopoulos, ground technicians, from Superior Air at Athens.
The trio could face negligence or manslaughter charges if they told the passengers to disembark when it was not safe.
But Jack Stanton-Gleaves, 20, who was in the helicopter along with friends James Yeabsley, 19, and former Bournemouth University student Max Savage, 20, rubbished the police and pilot’s version of events.
Robin Stanton–Gleaves, Jack’s father, is the owner and chairman at National League side Bromley FC. Jack told MailOnline that no instructions were given for exiting the helicopter or that anyone escorted them to the lounge. They did nothing but open the doors.
“We all disembarked independently and Jack was free to go back towards the rear of our helicopter. The accident occurred before any of us could reach the lounge.
Jack may have been on his cell phone when he ran back towards the helicopter, but this is untrue. It was his phone, and I have no idea why he turned to the back of the helicopter.
Jack’s mother Victoria, speaking from her home in Tonbridge, Kent, told MailOnline how the family are ‘completely devastated’ by the loss of their ‘wonderful boy’ who attended the £36,000-a-year Sutton Valence boarding school in Maidstone.
Jack Fenton (circled), is seen on vacation in Mykonos, Greece with his friends prior to the unfortunate accident. Also included are Max Savage, Jack Stanton—Gleaves(top), Max Stanton–Gleaves (“middle Left”) Tom Aitkin (“middle Right”) and Robin Stanton–Gleaves („right”)
Pilot Christos Fragkopanagos has been named by local media as the pilot who has been asked to testify over yesterday’s tragedy
Miguel Fenton is Jack Fenton’s father and head of marketing, sales, and PR at The Hop Farm. This 400-acre visitor attraction and country park in Beltring, Kent, is (pictured together, left).
The scene at Spata in Greece, where a helicopter rear-rotor crashed into Briton and killed him, was captured by emergency personnel last night.
Photo: A Bell 407 that was in an accident. Red police tape around its tail.
Tourists had flown from Mykonos, to Spata’s helipad. They were to then take a limousine to Eleftherios Venizelos.
Ioannis Kandyllis (president of the Greek committee investigating aviation accidents) said that Jack ran back to the helicopter carrying his cellphone.
The man claimed that all four passengers were disembarked, and they were then escorted into a private lounge to await a private flight from London.
The victim ran fast to get to the helicopter, but he was already in the lounge.
Our witnesses said that he carried a cell phone with him and was speeding up to board the plane. He defied ground crew orders to stop! Stop!”
“Within seconds the tragic incident occurred. It was terrible.
The private heliport was located on the outskirts the Greek capital. However, emergency services responded immediately and the 22-year old is believed to have died instantly.
For evidence, Greek investigators will examine the video from the surveillance camera on the landing area.
It was revealed by them that several others witnessed the tragedy from their lounge.
“They are yet to be interviewed, but we will reach them to collect additional testimony as we put this puzzle together,” an official in aviation said.
Victoria, his mother said that she only learned about the tragedy at midnight last night. Our hearts are broken. He was the most amazing boy.
“I believe the pilot is currently in custody. However, it looked like the worst accident.
Jack was on a trip to Greece with his friends. They were an American couple that celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
The Oxford Brookes university student, who went to the £36,000-a-year Sutton Valence boarding school in Maidstone, Kent, walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engine was still engaged
A young Briton was in Athens on vacation with friends when he tragically died in a helicopter crash.
Fragkopanagos (pictured), the head of training at Superior Air, Athens and ground technicians Salim Miat and Spyros Andreiopoulos were both arrested. They were later released by police
His family stayed in Kent. We never went to Greece. One of his best friends’ father was there.
Jack, his friends and he had a great time flying a helicopter between Athens and Mykonos. Then they did the same thing again. A helicopter flew from Mykonos to Athens.
Although he had successfully landed the helicopter in Athens safely, he lost his way and crashed back into the helicopter. It was the propeller that killed him. The death was immediate.
“He was drunk the night before and hadn’t had water since yesterday. His friends and he were both sober.
Jack’s father and his friend were in the following helicopter. It was recommended that they land at a different airport to avoid the grim scene on the helipad.
Kandyllis claimed that both the pilot and ground crew of the Paiania private heliodrome northeast of Athens testified in front of a prosecutor. The prosecution also gave detailed accounts to the inquiry committee looking into the cause of this unprecedented accident.
Kandyllis stated that all safety rules were observed during the Bell helicopter’s landing and the disembarkation for its four passengers.
The man reportedly walked behind the Bell 407 helicopter while its engines were still engaged and was struck by the aircraft’s tail rotor
The private helicopter port on the outskirts the Greek capital was called by emergency services, but the 22 year-old died instantly
Today, Jack’s three friends – Yeabsley, Savage and Stanton Gleaves – returned to Britain in a private jet from Athens’ Spata airport (pictured: the scene today)
According to him, “Aviation regulations require that passengers be disembarked either after the helicopter’s propellers have stopped completely or when an expert crew is present.”
In this example, the passengers disembarked at both the right and left doors. All were safely escorted to the lounge.
“It was after that the tragedy happened.”
Kandyllis claimed that the victims’ mobile phones were to be recovered by them to check who they were contacting during the accident, and to discover the reason he returned to the helicopter.
It was planned that the group would disembark from the Superior Air helicopter pad before they were chauffeured to Eleftherios Venizelos Airport where they would board their private jet to return to the UK.
Today Jack’s friends Yeabsley and Savage, along with Stanton-Gleaves, returned home to Britain via a private aircraft from Athens’ Spata Airport.
It is believed that all three were schoolfriends with Jack from Sutton Valence.
James Thomas, headmaster of Sutton Valence said that it was extremely sad to learn the devastating news about Jack.
“He was very much loved by the community.
“Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to all affected by this incident.”
Miguel Fenton, Jack’s dad, is the head of sales, marketing and PR at The Hop Farm in Beltring. It is a 400-acre park located near Tonbridge, Kent.
MailOnline received a statement from the Hop Farm stating that this was a private matter. It had nothing to with the company and they have no comments.
The Whitbread Hop Farm was the name of the farm until 1997. The brewery owned the farm. The Whitbread Hop Farm boasts the largest number of oast house collections in the world.
Although police sources have not revealed the identity of the families involved, it’s believed they were extremely wealthy and enjoying luxury holidays on Mykonos (pictured).
The rotors will continue to work for approximately two minutes once the engine is turned off. Pilots can stop them by pressing a button at 50 seconds.
The pilot should instruct their passengers thoroughly to ensure that they remain inside the helicopter until the movement ceases. However, the helicopter does not have locks or a crew to assist the passengers.
MailOnline received this statement from George Kaliakmanis the President of Union of Police Officers of Southeast Attica.
“So now, the investigation will be focused on the safety precautions taken from the pilot. Was he telling them to stay put or not?
“It has two propellers. The one with 500 turns per minute and the other at 2500 turn/second. These propellers will run approximately 2 minutes after the engine is turned off, unless the button is pressed which immediately stops them at 50 seconds. Because of their speed, the propellers do not become visible.
Sources said the 115-mile trip in two helicopters would have cost more than £15,000.