On Thursday, October 28thth, 2021 businessman David Henderson, who was responsible for organizing the flight that ultimately crashed which resulted in the death of the popular football player Emiliano Sala, has just been found guilty of criminal charges for endangering the safety of an aircraft by the Cardiff Crown Court.
Sala and the pilot of the flight, David Ibbotson, died when the plane they were in crashed into the English Channel in January of 2019.
Previously, Henderson had voluntarily pleaded guilty for attempting to coordinate a flight without having permission or authorization to do so, but David had also denied the charge for endangering the safety of an aircraft in regards to the plane crash that killed two individuals including a major sports celebrity.
It took the jury of his peers only 7 and a half hours to eventually decide to convict the businessman for his involvement in this tragic but very real incident back in 2019. The aircraft in this case was transporting Sala from the location of Nantes, France, to the capital city of Wales, Cardiff, where Emiliano had just inked a new contract with the Cardiff City football club.
A hearing in October of 2020 reported that the pilot of this flight in question, Ibbotson, had license to fly a commercial flight although the license he possessed was expired. Ibbotson’s license to fly a commercial aircraft had actually expired approximately a year early than the plane crash in November of 2018. As the United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch reported that the airplane had been slowly yet deadly enough leaking carbon monoxide during the flight. Carbon monoxide poising is fatal and can easily kill individuals who are exposed to it.
An attempt by Ibbotson to pull up the aircraft while it was in flight had been found to have caused the plane to break – up in mid-air.
The jury in this highly – publicized case heard about the pilot, Ibbotson, did not possess a valid qualification to fly the aircraft during the night time. Also, Ibbotson’s as well as his ratings to fly the small single-engine Piper Malibu had previously expired well before this deadly flight that crashed and burned. Henderson had requested the unlawful pilot to fly the dangerous flight, as the businessman was on vacation in Paris, France at that time.
The jury was definitely made sure to be informed on the fact that following this horrific and fatal plane crash that Henderson was then made well – aware of the accident, the court heard, Henderson followed that news up by texting particular individuals asking those people to remain quiet and not to discuss the event with anyone else because the information they may have divulged would absolutely, “open a can of worms.”
Henderson later admitted under oath in the Cardiff Crown Court that he was extremely afraid of what an investigation would do to the well–being of his business as opposed to the well–being of the people that were directly involved in the terrible occurrence of that plane crashing down in pieces in to the English Channel back in January of the year 2019.
The actual owner of the single-engine Piper Malibu, Fay Keely, had also told Henderson not to allow Ibbotson to put that old bird in the air again following a strict warning given by the Civil Aviation Authority about at least 2 airspace infringements that Ibbotson had previously just committed.
The prosecutor of this intense as well as high–profile court case stated that Henderson had been “reckless or negligent” by prioritizing the status of his business over the safety of those on board the aircraft. He also explained that there was a significant culture of breaking specific airspace rules and safety guidelines among the pilots that he hired in the past.
The businessman Henderson will be handed down his inevitable sentence for his crimes on Friday, November 12th, 2021. Henderson is most likely facing prison time for a long period of time for these crimes.
Sources:
ESPN News Services. “Emiliano Sala plane crash: Businessman convicted over deaths”. ESPN. October 28, 2021.
