By akademiotoelektronik, 25/08/2022

Death of Emiliano Sala. The last flight of the football player studied under the magnifying glass

We only had one photo of him, taken in front of an airplane, his hair shaggy and his eyes haggard. This Monday, October 18, in front of the Cardiff Crown Court, we discover a slender man dressed in a blue suit, his white lock combed on the side.

Read also: Death of footballer Emiliano Sala: five questions about the trial of the owner of the plane

At lunch break, watching him in the courthouse cafeteria, eating a sandwich and chips with his wife, one would think he was relaxed. But at the exit of the dock of the accused, at the end of this first day of trial, his dark look and his nervous gestures betray his anguish.

License expired

David Henderson is being sued by the Civil aviation authority, the guarantor of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. He is the one who arranged, on behalf of agent Mark McKay, the transport of footballer Emiliano Sala between Cardiff and Nantes on January 21, 2019. The flight had been offered to him directly but he assures that he had planned, this that weekend, a Parisian getaway with his wife. David Henderson therefore proposed to an amateur pilot, David Ibbotson, to ensure the flight in his place.

However, disputes the Civil aviation authority, neither the plane nor David Ibbotson was authorized to operate a commercial flight. In addition, David Ibbotson's license had expired since November 2018 and this pilot did not have the clearance to fly at night, especially with weather as bad as that of January 21, 2019.

A plane in good condition?

This trial, which should last two weeks, will therefore look into this theft. Was David Ibbotson qualified enough to insure it? For the defense, his approximately 3,000 flying hours made him a very competent pilot. But the court will also have to consider the very condition of the Piper PA-46-310P Malibu. We remember this message from Emiliano Sala, sent via WhatsApp to his relatives: "I'm on the plane, it looks like it's going to fall apart and I'm leaving for Cardiff".

Was the aircraft fit to make this Channel crossing on a night of bad weather? The autopsy carried out on the body of Emiliano Sala, recovered a few weeks after the crash, showed severe carbon monoxide poisoning suggesting a leak in the plane's exhaust system. Lack of maintenance? On this point, the testimony of the owner of the Piper Malibu, scheduled for Wednesday, is expected. Just like that of the plane's official mechanic. David Henderson is not expected to speak until early next week. After more than two years of silence.

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