The British air accident investigation office (AAIB) is reporting this Friday on the plane crash of Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala. His plane crashed at sea over a year ago. The small private plane in which the 28-year-old player and pilot David Ibbotson were found sank in the English Channel on January 21, 2019. The FC Nantes striker joined the Cardiff club, where he had just been transferred, to 17 million euros.
His body, whose disappearance moved the world of football, was found in the carcass of the device, more than two weeks after the accident, at 67 meters deep. That of the 59-year-old pilot was not found.
A "potentially fatal" level of carbon monoxide
The autopsy established that Emiliano Sala died from "head and trunk injuries". An interim report released last August by the AAIB found that the Argentinian striker was exposed to a "life-threatening" level of carbon monoxide. The investigation office deemed it "probable" that the pilot was also exposed.
"It is clear from the symptoms that exposure to (carbon monoxide) can reduce or inhibit a pilot's ability to fly an aircraft depending on the level of exposure," said the AAIB.
Carbon monoxide poisoning poses a particular risk to the type of aircraft in which the two men were traveling. "Poor cabin tightness or leaks in the exhaust heating and ventilation systems can allow carbon monoxide to enter the cabin" and into the cockpit, investigators said.
The pilot was not allowed to carry paying passengers
Less than a month after the accident, the investigation office established that the Piper PA-46 Malibu, registered in the United States, was not authorized for commercial flights. The single-engine aircraft was not certified for, and its pilot, David Ibbotson, was not authorized to transport paying passengers. Nor is it certain that he was allowed to fly at night.
The flight was chartered by the British pilot David Henderson, at the request of the intermediary Willie McKay and his son Mark, the agent mandated by Nantes to carry out the transfer of Sala. The McKays state that they have paid for the entire trip. Cardiff claims for its part to have offered a commercial flight to the player, who declined it, even if he was worried before takeoff of the state of the small plane.
On the criminal front, British police have decided not to prosecute a suspect briefly arrested last year for manslaughter. "The investigation into how the flight was handled is continuing," said Dorset police, who have promised to "continue helping" the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and its own investigations.
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
The Cardiff club has meanwhile filed in Nantes a complaint against X which targets the terms of the transfer and the organization of the fatal flight. Since the accident, Nantes has claimed payment from the Welsh club for the transfer. At the end of September, the International Football Federation agreed with Nantes and ordered the payment of a first tranche of 6 million euros. But Cardiff has seized the Sports Arbitral Tribunal (CAS), whose decision is not expected before June.