A man, suspected of having played the role of intermediary to organize the flight which carried Emiliano Sala, will be tried in October 2021. The footballer was killed in the crash of the plane which was to bring him to Cardiff, after his transfer from FC Nantes, in January 2019. 

A man suspected of acting as an intermediary in arranging the theft that carried footballer Emiliano Sala in 2019 appeared by video conference in a Welsh court on Monday and will be tried in October 2021. David Henderson, 66, has pleaded not guilty of breaches of air navigation law at a hearing in court on Monday in Cardiff, Wales.

He is accused of risking the safety of an aircraft, as well as of attempting to disembark a passenger without valid permission or authorization.

This man from East Yorkshire (northern England) was released on bail.

His trial is scheduled for October 18, 2021, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said.

The pilot had lost control of the aircraft 

David Henderson's attorney, Stephen Spence, said he would raise questions as to whether Cardiff was an "appropriate place" for a fair trial, given Emiliano Sala's connection to the football club from the Welsh capital.

The small private plane aboard which the 28-year-old Argentinian player and pilot David Ibbotson were aboard crashed in the English Channel on January 21, 2019. The FC Nantes striker was joining the club Cardiff City, where he came from. be transferred for 17 million euros.

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

The body of the 59-year-old pilot has not been found.

In its final report published last March, the British Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) estimated that the pilot had lost control of the aircraft during a maneuver performed at too high a speed, "probably" intended to avoid bad weather to be able to fly on sight.