2019 English Channel Piper PA-46 crash
A Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Argentine football player Emiliano Sala crashed in the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands on 21 January 2019. 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 49.82°N 2.71°W |
| 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 24 January, a private search for wreckage was launched. Sala's body was recovered, but no trace of the pilot David Ibbotson was found.
The AAIB investigation found that Sala's body showed high levels of exposure to carbon monoxide which had leaked into the cabin of the aircraft and may have impaired the judgement of the pilot. Ibbotson's rating for flying the aircraft had expired in November 2018 which invalidated his licence, and he was not qualified to fly at night. David Henderson, who organised 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, after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court and jailed for 18 months.