This is beginning, IMHO, to sound like aviation version of the Diana, Princess of Wales case.
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Todays Times;
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...849392,00.html
Air crash lawyer ‘in fear of his life’
Dipesh Gadher, Transport Correspondent
A MILLIONAIRE lawyer with close links to a jailed Russian oil tycoon received death threats before he was killed in a helicopter crash, an inquest is likely to hear this week.
A friend is expected to say in court that Stephen Curtis feared for his life and possibly the welfare of his wife and teenage daughter. Curtis, 45, a legal adviser to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed former head of the Yukos oil company, died when his Augusta 109 helicopter plunged into a field near Bournemouth airport, Dorset, in March last year. The pilot, Max Radford, was also killed.
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch report found no evidence of foul play and appeared to blame the crash on Radford, who had “probably become disorientated” in poor weather conditions.
Despite the findings, speculation about events leading up to Curtis’s death has been intense. Several media reports quoted unnamed associates of the lawyer saying that Curtis believed his life was at risk from individuals in Russia.
Radford’s parents say the investigation report is “a whitewash” and their son was “a very experienced pilot”.
A three-day inquest, involving a jury sitting before a coroner in Bournemouth, will begin tomorrow. It will hear evidence from up to 16 witnesses, including Curtis’s friend whose name has not been disclosed. Most of the witnesses are believed to be technical experts, including an explosives specialist. Curtis’s widow, Sarah, has provided a written statement.
Her late husband, who lived in a £5m castle in Portland, Dorset, took control of Yukos after Khodorkovsky fell out with President Vladimir Putin. The Russian oligarch was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion and fraud in 2003. Curtis had helped to set up a network of offshore accounts for Yukos, a former state-owned company.
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Perhaps a copy of this thread should be presented to the inquiry. Seems to tell a tale or two!