The sister of British helicopter victim Jack Fenton has furiously rejected claims that her brother defied security regulations and caused his own death in Greece. Some reports suggested the 22-year-old student took a selfie towards the rear of the aircraft next to the spinning tail rotor of the helicopter and was killed instantly.
However, his 20-year-old sister Daisy denied the reports as “rubbish”, saying her brother was “cautious and wary”. She shifted the blame onto pilot Christos Fragkopanagos or the ground crew, who were all arrested but then later released yesterday, according to Mirror Online.
Daisy, a student at the University of Manchester, told the MailOnline: “This was Jack’s first ever helicopter ride. So you can imagine how cautious and wary, if anything, he was.”
She said any rumours of him violating protocols are rubbish because there were no protocols and none of the passengers were told what to do.
Mr Fenton, an Oxford Brookes student, from Kent was travelling with a group of friends in two private Bell 407 helicopters from Mykonos, where they were scheduled to take a chauffeured ride to Athens airport for a private jet back to London.
“No one knows exactly what led him back [towards the tail rotor]. Perhaps he forgot something. But the line that he went back to take a selfie is rubbish. It’s a lie,” Daisy added.
She said her private school-educated brother was not a rich or obnoxious young man and confirmed that they are waiting for his remains to be shipped back, but do not know when that will be.
Daisy also confirmed that her parents, Miguel and Victoria and other family members had all returned back to the UK.
Jack Stanton-Gleaves, a friend who was also on the holiday, said no instructions were given when exiting the helicopter and all they did was open the doors for them.
“’We disembarked on our own and no one stopped Jack from going to the rear of the helicopter. None of us reached the lounge before the accident happened,” he continued.
The headmaster at Jack’s old school in Maidstone, Kent, has paid tribute to his former pupil, describing him as a “very popular member of the community”.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Fragkopanagos may face manslaughter or negligence charges if they knowingly allowed the group to leave the helicopter when it was not safe to do so.
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