The pilot of the plane in which the footballer Emiliano Sala was killed in 2019 carried out an excessive speed maneuver, which led to the dislocation of the aircraft, concluded the British accident investigation office aerial (AAIB).

In their final report, released on Friday, investigators believe the pilot lost control of the aircraft during a maneuver likely to avoid bad weather. Pilot David Ibbotson, whose body was never found, was also "likely" to have been poisoned by carbon monoxide.

The small private plane aboard which the 28-year-old player and the pilot was sank in the English Channel on January 21, 2019. The FC Nantes striker joined the Cardiff club, where he had just been transferred for 17 million d 'euros.

The body of the player, whose disappearance had moved the world of football, had been found in the carcass of the device, more than two weeks after the accident, at 67 meters deep.

The autopsy established that Emiliano Sala died from "injuries to the head and trunk". An interim report released last August by the AAIB had established that the Argentine attacker had been exposed to a "potentially fatal" level of carbon monoxide.

The investigation office had judged "probable" that the pilot was also exposed. "It is clear from the symptoms that exposure to (carbon monoxide) can reduce or inhibit a pilot's ability to fly an aircraft depending on the level of exposure," said the AAIB.

Carbon monoxide poisoning poses a particular risk to the type of aircraft in which the two men were traveling. "Poor cabin tightness or leaks in the exhaust heating and ventilation systems can allow carbon monoxide to enter the cabin" and into the cockpit, investigators said.

No criminal prosecution

Less than a month after the accident, the investigation office had established that the Piper PA-46 Malibu, registered in the United States, was not authorized for commercial flights. The single-engine aircraft was not approved for, and its pilot, David Ibbotson, was not authorized to transport paying passengers. Nor is it certain that he was allowed to fly at night.

The flight was chartered by the British pilot David Henderson, at the request of the intermediary Willie McKay and his son Mark, the agent mandated by Nantes to carry out the transfer of Sala. The McKays state that they have paid for the entire trip.

Cardiff claims for its part to have offered a commercial flight to the player, who declined it, even if he was worried before takeoff of the state of the small plane.

On the criminal front, British police have decided not to prosecute a suspect briefly arrested last year for manslaughter. According to The Times, it was Mr. Henderson.

The Cardiff club has meanwhile filed in Nantes a complaint against X which targets the terms of the transfer and the organization of the fatal flight.

Since the accident, Nantes has claimed payment from the Welsh club for the transfer. At the end of September, Fifa agreed with Nantes and ordered the payment of a first tranche of 6 million euros, but Cardiff seized the Sports Arbitral Tribunal (CAS), whose decision is not expected before June.

With AFP

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