‘Unlicensed’ pilot flew too fast in Sala accident
● Lack of training in night flying also paid a part say investigators
The plane crash that killed footballer Emiliano Sala was caused when the pilot flew too fast and lost control while attempting to avoid bad weather, accident investigators said.
A final report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found the singleengine Piper Malibu aircraft suffered an in-flight break-up while being flown too fast for its design limits.
The report said pilot David Ibbotson, 59, was probably affected by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Investigators found that a contributory factor in the crash was Mr Ibbotson having no training in night flying and a lack of recent practice in relying only on cockpit instruments to control a plane.
The pilot and plane involved in the crash that killed Emiliano Sala were also unlicensed for the flight, investigators said.
Mr Ibbotson held a private pilot’s licence that did not allow him to conduct flights for reward.
But during
its 14-month inquiry into the crash that killed Argentine footballer Sala, the AAIB found he “had been paid a fee for flights on numerous occasions”.
It also obtained “significant evidence” he was expecting to be paid for the accident flight, although it did not disclose how much he was due to earn.
Summarising the findings, investigator in charge Geraint Herbert said: “Control of the aircraft was lost during a manually flown turn and the aircraft descended rapidly accelerating.
“The aircraft rolled to the left and there was an abrupt noseup control input, at a speed well above the maximum permitted for such an input.” He said the resulting loads on the aircraft were “excessive”, which caused it to then “breakup in flight”.
“It was likely that the pilot’s ability to control the flight was impaired to some extent by carbon monoxide poisoning,” he said.
Argentine striker Sala, 28, signed for Cardiff City from French club Nantes on 19 January last year for £15 million.
Mr Ibbotson flew him from Cardiff to Nantes so he could say goodbye to his former team-mates, before conducting the return flight two days later when the plane plunged into the Channel. Sala’s body was recovered, but Mr Ibbotson has not been found.
Neither Mr Ibbotson nor the plane were licensed for the flight to operate commercially, but evidence showed he was to be paid a fee, the AAIB said.
Unlicensed charter flight operations generally incur lower operating costs.
Former football agent Willie Mckay has said he paid for the fatal flight, but did not choose the pilot or the plane.