The man who organized the crashed flight, with Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson on board, in 2019, was found guilty of endangering the aircraft by a court in Wales .
David Henderson, 67, was tried, Thursday, October 28, for recklessness or negligence likely to have endangered the device. He faces up to five years in prison, as well as two more years for transporting a passenger without valid authorization, a charge for which he pleaded guilty. The sentence is due on November 12.
Emiliano Sala, 28, was traveling to join Cardiff City club, where he had just been transferred from FC Nantes for 17 million euros. The small private plane which transported him, obtained by this intermediary, was damaged in the English Channel on January 21, 2019. The body of the player, whose disappearance had moved the world of football, had been found in the carcass of the device. , more than two weeks after the accident, at a depth of 67 meters. His remains were repatriated to Argentina in 2019. The body of the 59-year-old pilot has not been found.
Speed too high
In its final report, published in March 2020, the British Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) estimated that the pilot lost control of the aircraft, a Piper PA-46 Malibu, during a maneuver performed at too high a speed, ” probably “ intended to avoid bad weather to be able to fly on sight. The plane was launched at a speed of 270 miles per hour (435 km / h) at the time of impact with the water, according to the AAIB, excluding any hope of survival.
Investigators also believe that the pilot, ” probably “ been poisoned by carbon monoxide from the engine exhaust system. Investigators also pointed out that the flight was not carried out under conditions that comply with the rules that apply for commercial flights. The pilot sailed by sight, at night, in difficult weather conditions when he did not have the license to pilot this type of plane or to fly at night, they noted.
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.