Sala claim ‘invalidates insurance’
His last moments are revealed – and it emerges pilot didn’t have a licence for commercial flights
A PRELIMINARY report into the air crash which cost Emiliano Sala his life has raised questions about whether the pilot was legally licensed to carry the player, which could encourage Cardiff City to continue withholding payment of the £15m transfer fee to Nantes. An experienced football administrator at the top of the English game told Sportsmail that if the flight was not fully licensed to fly Sala, then Cardiff’s insurance policy might be invalid. The Air Accident Investigation Branch report says the Piper Malibu aircraft was not licensed for commercial use. Pilot Dave Ibbotson, who is still missing after the crash, was entitled to transport the player on a private basis, but would have needed to pay half the operating costs of the flight, under aviation rules on carrying passengers. Last night, Cardiff issued a statement making it clear they view the AAIB report as a source of concern. The club said: ‘We have grave concerns that questions remain over the validity of the pilot’s licence and rating to undertake such a journey. We are also concerned to discover that the trip involved an aircraft which... may have been operating unlawfully.’
THE plane carrying footballer Emiliano Sala fell thousands of feet in just 24 seconds before crashing into the sea and splitting into three parts, an official report has found.
Investigators yesterday released more photographs of the mangled wreckage of the Piper Malibu light aircraft, which was found in three parts held together only by electrical and flight control cables.
An interim report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch revealed the pilot did not have a licence for commercial flights.
David Ibbotson, who is still missing following the crash, held a private pilot licence. This meant he could not carry passengers for reward and could only fly passengers in the EU on a ‘cost- sharing basis’. The investiga- tion is yet to establish if Mr Ibbotson had contributed costs to Sala’s flight, but the validity of his licence will form part of the AAIB’s ongoing inquiries.
The plane carrying Sala, 28, and 59year-old Mr Ibbotson, a father of three, vanished over the English Channel near Guernsey on January 21.
It had been heading to Wales from Nantes in Brittany y after the striker completed a club record £15million transfer to Cardiff City two days earlier.
The AAIB stated that the aircraft took off at 7.15pm m GMT and flew on its planned ed route at an altitude of 5,500ft 00ft until it was around 13 nautical tical miles south of Guernsey at 8.02pm.
The pilot then requested permission from air traffic control to fly at a lower level to maintain visibility.
He was cleared to fly at 5,000ft, and when asked if a further descent d t was required, i Mr Ibbotson responded: ‘Negative.’
However, at 8.12pm the pilot asked for and was granted permission to reduce altitude again. This was his last radio communication.
Radar readings show the aircraft turned left and right, descended gradually, then rose rapidly. At 8.16pm, during a right turn, it plunged at a rate of 7,000ft per minute – around 80mph – to a height of 1,600ft. Twenty-four seconds after the descent began the final radar return was recorded.
The AAIB stated that a band of showers passed through the area around the time of the crash.
Sala’s body was recovered on February 6 following a private search. An inquest heard he died of severe injuries to his head and upper body during the crash.
Mr Ibbotson’s body has not yet been located, but his family hope a fresh search will begin this week after an online fundraising campaign reached £250,000.
Vanished over the Channel