2019 English Channel Piper PA-46 crash
On 21 January 2019, a Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Argentine football player Emiliano Sala crashed in the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands. It had been travelling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales. Sala was due to begin his career at Cardiff City.
 The wreckage of N264DB, the Piper Malibu involved, resting on the sea floor | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 January 2019 |
| Summary | Loss of control, mid-air breakup, crashed into the sea |
| Site | English Channel, off Alderney, Channel Islands 49°49′N 2°43′W / 49.82°N 2.71°W[1] |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-46 Malibu |
| Registration | N264DB |
| Flight origin | Nantes Atlantique Airport, Nantes, France |
| Destination | Cardiff Airport, Cardiff, Wales |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Passengers | 1 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 2 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Radar contact was lost when the aircraft was 13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi) north of Guernsey. After the search for survivors was abandoned on January 24, a private search for the plane's wreckage was launched. Sala's body was recovered, but no trace of pilot David Ibbotson was found.
The AAIB investigation found that Sala's body showed high levels of carbon monoxide poisoning that had leaked into the plane's cabin and may have affected the pilot's consciousness. Ibbotson's qualification to fly the plane expired in November 2018, invalidating his license and he was not qualified to fly at night. David Henderson, who organized the flight and was originally scheduled to be the pilot, was charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft. He was found guilty on 28 October 2021, following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, and jailed for 18 months.
It was concluded in the final report that Sala and the pilot suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, which caused pilot error and the partial disintegration of the aircraft in the air and finally the impact with the water.
