UK probe releases report into Sala plane crash

British aviation investigators said the plane carrying late Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala crashed after the pilot lost control while attempting to avoid bad weather.

In January 2019, Sala, then 28, was on his way from Nantes Airport in France to the southern Welsh city of Cardiff when the single-propeller PA 46 Malibu light aircraft he was on crashed 22 nautical miles (40.7 kilometers) in the British Channel northwest of Guernsey island. Both he and the plane's pilot, David Ibbotson, were killed in the crash.

The Argentinian forward had just completed a 15 million pound (€17 million, $19 million) move to Cardiff City Football Club from French side Nantes. He had returned to France to collect his belongings before returning to the UK.

Sudden maneuver

In its final report published on Friday, The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the pilot lost control of the aircraft during a manually-flown turn." The report said the turn was "probably initiated to remain in or regain Visual Meteorological Conditions." The AAIB found that the plane was traveling "at an airspeed significantly in excess of its design maneuvering speed." Its investigation also found that the pilot was "probablyaffected by carbon monoxide poisoning."

The report pointed out that the flight "was not conducting in accordance with safety standards applicable to commercial operations." The flight was also being operated at night and in poor weather conditions and the pilot had no training in night flying and no recent practice in instrument flying.

"Neither the pilot nor the aircraft had the required licenses or permissions to operate commercially," the report said.

The investigation also found that the plane did not have a carbon monoxide detector with an active warning, one that would have alerted the pilot of the toxic gas in time for him to adjust. The report also said that "In-service inspections of exhaust systems do not eliminate the risk of (carbon monoxide) poisoning."

Manslaughter charges dropped

The report comes two days after British police dropped manslaughter charges against a 64-year-old man. 

The man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by an unspecified unlawful act last June, but was released was released pending an investigation. But police said on Wednesday that it would not take further action against the man.

Sala's death prompted an outpouring of emotion from the footballing world. The incident was also mired in controversy as Nantes and Cardiff City haggled over whether the transfer fee should indeed be paid.