The man who flew the plane that crashed into the English Channel in an accident that killed Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala had previously complained that the plane was “problematic”, according to an audio obtained by the BBC.
In a phone conversation with another pilot, David Ibbotson, who was 59 at the time of the accident, said they had entrusted him to pick up the player in a “problematic Mirage”.
“Usually I put my life jacket between the seats, but tomorrow we will definitely put the vest on”he said.
Ibbotson said in the report that on a previous occasion he heard a loud bang while flying the plane and that the left brake pedal was not working. “This plane has to go back to the hangar,” he told his friend.
The footballer also expressed his fear in an audio sent to friends, referring to being “afraid” and that the plane “appeared to be falling apart”.
In November last year, a Welsh court ruled that pilot David Henderson had acted negligently which could have endangered the plane, a single-engine Piper PA-46-310P Malibu, which crashed while flying. Cardiff.
Henderson was responsible for Sala’s trip to Wales, where the Argentine forward, who played for Nantes, would sign for Cardiff City, then in the Premier League, eventually delegating the role of piloting the plane to a friend. Ibbotson, who also died in the accident.
The plane crashed into the English Channel on January 21, 2019. Sala’s body was recovered two weeks later. According to the autopsy, the player died of “various head and torso injuries” after also being exposed to a “potentially fatal” level of carbon monoxide. David Ibbotson’s remains have never been found.
Source: DN
