Sala ‘deeply unconscious' as plane crashed, inquest finds
The Independent|March 18, 2022
An inquest jury has concluded footballer Emiliano Sala died as a result of a plane crash, having been overcome by toxic levels of carbon monoxide from the aircraft’s faulty exhaust system.
CHIARA GIORDANO
Sala ‘deeply unconscious' as plane crashed, inquest finds

The Argentinian striker, 28, died alongside pilot David Ibbotson, 59, when the private plane he was travelling in crashed in the English Channel on 21 January 2019.

A jury at Bournemouth Town Hall found Sala was a passenger on a private plane that was being flown by a pilot who did not have the correct authority to fly at night, which broke up when it crashed into the sea. The 28-year-old player’s body was recovered from the wreckage of the single-engine plane, but Mr Ibbotson’s remains have never been found.

Sala had been travelling from France to Wales after signing with the then Premier League club Cardiff City in a £15m transfer from French Ligue 1 side Nantes, which involved football agent Willie McKay. Sala’s family, who knew him affectionately as Emi, said the inquest had exposed “many of the missed opportunities in the worlds of football and aviation to prevent his tragic death”, following its conclusion yesterday.

This story is from the March 18, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the March 18, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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