CardiffCity

Emiliano Sala: pilot was not licensed to fly plane that crashed

13-Mar-2020 14:02:25 | The Guardian

David Ibbotson had not completed night-flying training and was not allowed to be paid for carrying passengers

The pilot of the plane carrying the professional footballer Emiliano Sala was not licensed to fly the aircraft when it plunged into the sea, killing both of them, an official report has concluded.

David Ibbotson had not completed night-flying training and his private pilot’s licence did not permit him to be paid for carrying passengers, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found.

The pilot lost control of the aircraft during a manually flown turn.

The aircraft suffered an in-flight break up while manoeuvring at an airspeed significantly in excess of its design manoeuvring speed.

The pilot was probably affected by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

Related: No action taken against Yorkshire man arrested over Emiliano Sala death

A loss of control was made more likely because the flight was not conducted in accordance with safety standards applicable to commercial operations. This manifested itself in the flight being operated ... at night in poor weather conditions despite the pilot having no training in night flying and a lack of recent practice in instrument flying.

There was no CO detector with an active warning in the aircraft which might have alerted the pilot to the presence of CO in time for him to take mitigating action.