An Angolan man died after being restrained by G4S security guards as he was being deported, an inquest has heard.
Jimmy Mubenga, 46, became ill on a plane as it prepared to leave Heathrow Airport in October 2010 and died later in hospital.
Karon Monaghan QC, Assistant Deputy Coroner for Hammersmith and Fulham, told the jury that the three security guards who were on the plane - Terence Hughes, Stuart Tribelnig and Colin Kaler - restrained Mr Mubenga shortly after he went to the toilet.
She said: "A struggle ensued between Mr Mubenga and the three DCOs (Detention Custody Officers). Mr Mubenga was then restrained, handcuffed and placed in a seat."
She went on: "At some point it appears that he fell silent and unresponsive, and it became clear that something was wrong."
There have been protests on behalf of Jimmy Mubenga
The coroner told the jury that the guards were later arrested "on suspicion of having committed criminal offences in relation to the death of Mr Mubenga" but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with the case.
She said that Mr Mubenga was being deported back to Angola after serving a two-year prison sentence for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The inquest at Isleworth Crown Court in west London is expected to last eight weeks.