Plane carrying footballer broke up mid air after pilot flew too fast
A PLANE carrying Emiliano Sala, the Argentine footballer, crashed when the pilot flew too fast and lost control while attempting to avoid bad weather, an investigation has found.
David Ibbotson, who was at the controls, was also likely to have been exposed to carbon monoxide leaking into the cabin from the exhaust, according to a report published yesterday.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded that the single-engine Piper Malibu aircraft suffered an in-flight break-up while being flown too fast for its design limits. The report said the “most probable cause” of Mr Ibbotson’s exposure was due to gas leaking from the aircraft’s exhaust into the heater muff, which provides warm air in the cabin.
Brian Mcdermid, the AAIB’S principal inspector for engineering, said the amount of carbon monoxide found in 28-year-old Mr Sala’s blood was enough to have “rendered him unconscious”.
The pilot, whose body was never found, would have been exposed to “similar levels” as his passenger, the report said.
Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of the combustion process in the aircraft’s engine and is typically expelled through the exhaust system. Mr Mcdermid said the hot engine gases in the exhaust pipe are used to heat “ambient fresh air” in the heater muff, with that heated air then directed into the plane’s cabin.
But he said it was “vital” that carbon monoxide and exhaust gas does not leak into the heater muff and the cabin.
Mr Mcdermid said the exhaust system was visually inspected 11 “flying hours” before the accident occurred.
But he added: “Given the harsh environment in which they operate, the exhaust system and heater muffs are known to fail between inspection intervals.” He said if carbon monoxide enters the cabin, pilots can switch the heat setting to cold and vent the interior with fresh air.
The report said the leak would have required “significant damage” to have occurred to the aircraft’s tailpipe or heater muff during the flight.
The AAIB has now recommended for piston engine aircraft, which have a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, to be fitted with detectors to alert pilots if levels increase.
Sala was being flown from Nantes in France to his new club Cardiff City at the time of the incident, when it crashed into the English Channel on Jan 21 2019.