Reports | Emiliano Sala's plane split apart while still in flight
Former Nantes and Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala’s plane split apart while the 28-year-old and pilot David Ibbotson were still on board. The Argentina international passed away last year after his plane carrying him across the English-channel plunged into the water, killing both men on board.
The Argentine striker was being flown from France to Cardiff City when the aircraft plunged into the English Channel in late January 2019. However, while Sala’s body was recovered a week later, the investigation has taken a long time to determine what exactly took place up in the air and why the crash had actually happened.
But in their final report about the January 2019 crash, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch has revealed that the plane broke apart in mid-air which caused the crash. That came about because of the fact that the plane was being flown too fast and well past its limitations which combined with the bad weather saw the plane split apart.
It also added that neither David Ibbotson or the Piper Malibu plane had the required licenses or permissions to operate as a commercial aircraft. Investigators revealed that 59-year-old Ibbotson had no training for night flights and was likely affected by carbon monoxide poisoning. That plus the bad weathers, saw investigators conclude that the plane entered the sea “upside down” and that the impact was “not survivable”.
"This flight was clearly an illegal charter, something we've said for a long time needs to stop. I think what's most sad is that there were probably about seven opportunities throughout the sequence where this flight could have stopped, and in a commercial environment it would have stopped, but in this case it just carried on through those levels until the ultimate moment of impact. Everything that could go wrong sadly did go wrong,” said Dave Edwards of the Air Charter Association.