On Tuesday, a British prosecutor accused the man behind the fatal flight for footballer Emiliano Sala of acting out of money, neglecting safety, leading to an accident in the English Channel.
According to the indictment, 67-year-old David Henderson, who is also a pilot, was negligent in organizing flights “when the plane was not authorized to do so and when it used an unqualified or competent pilot.”
In 2019, the Argentine FC Nantes striker was transferred to Cardiff for 17 million euros, and Henderson, as operator, organized return flights from Cardiff to Nantes and from the Gaulish city back to Wales two days later.
Busy and therefore unable to fly the plane, David Henderson delegated this mission to a colleague who had neither the experience nor the ability to cope with the harsh weather conditions that led to the crash on the night of January 21st.
The plane, the private Piper PA-46 Malibu, was to be flown by 59-year-old David Obbotson, whose body was never found.
“Ibbotson did not have a commercial pilot license, his qualifications [este] This type of aircraft expired in November 2018 and it could not fly in the weather conditions that David Henderson knew, ”said Attorney Martin Goody.
The pilot lost control of the aircraft, which took off during the flight, during a maneuver performed at very high speed, “probably” designed to avoid bad weather in order to be able to fly into sight, according to the final report on the UK plane crash in March. 2020 Bureau of Investigation (AAIB).
The body of the 28-year-old former football player was found in the body of the device more than two weeks after the accident, at a depth of 67 meters, after the official searches ended; the family will continue this work, which will be crowned with success.
The disaster turned the world of football upside down and contributed to a heart attack from which the athlete’s father died just three months later.
The trial, which began on Monday, is expected to last two weeks.
