Emiliano Sala plane crash pilot likely ‘overcome by carbon monoxide’

Footballer had poisonous levels of carbon dioxide in his body, which was pulled from the sea following the crash, an inquest has heard

Tributes left outside the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France for the former Nantes FC and Ligue One player (REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo)

The pilot flying footballer Emiliano Sala was likely to have been “overcome by carbon monoxide” in the minutes before the plane crashed, killing them both, an inquest has heard.

David Ibbotson, 59, was flying 28-year-old Sala to Wales from Nantes, France, after the striker signed a £15m deal to join then Premier League club Cardiff City in 2019.

The plane crashed and was later found in the English Channel on 21 January.

Sala’s body was recovered from the plane wreckage but Ibbotson’s remains have never been found. Tests found poisonous levels of carbon dioxide, likely caused by the plane’s faulty exhaust system, in the footballer’s blood.

Emiliano Sala was on a return flight home from Nantes, piloted by David Ibbotson, when it crashed and both died. (Jean-Francois/AFP via Getty Images)

Contact was lost with the single-engine Piper Malibu plane just after 8pm on 21 January, and principle investigator Geraint Herbert said the pilot was in contact via radio moments before the crash.

“We know the pilot was talking on the radio four minutes before the crash but we also know that, in between one and three minutes, death can occur from carbon monoxide,” he told the inquest at the Dorset Coroner’s Court.

“We said the pilot was probably affected by carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Mr Herbert added: “We believe what happened in the flight happened quite late in the flight and happened quite quickly and it happened shortly after the last radio contact.”

“We think this accident happened because there was a rapid release of carbon monoxide into the cabin and the pilot, as a result, lost control of the aircraft, which led to the break-up,” Mr Herbert continued.

“We feel he probably wasn’t completely unconscious for the whole of that. There was significant carbon monoxide to make him lose control but not so much that it made him unconscious.

“We know at the end he pulled back, which led to the break-up.”

This map shows the last known movements of the plane before it fatally crashed near Guernsey in the English channel (Google Earth / AAIB)

Mr Herbert was unable to say why the fault in the plane occured, but noted a loud bang was heard during the outward flight from Cardiff that was not investigated by an engineer before the return trip from France, where Sala lived.

Mr Ibbotson held a private pilot’s licence which did not permit him to fly passengers commercially or at night, the court heard.

He had been asked to fly the plane by businessman David Henderson, 67, who managed the aircraft on behalf of its owner. The flight had been arranged by football agent, Willie McKay, a long-time client of Mr Henderson who helped facilitate Sala’s move to Cardiff.

The inquest continues.