A British pilot is on trial in connection with a plane crash that killed Argentine professional footballer Emiliano Salla.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) On Thursday, it revealed that it had charged David Henderson, 66, with two counts of felony criminal mischief. Channel last year.
The 28-year-old striker was being transported from Nantes, France, to his new club Cardiff City on January 21, 2019, when a light aircraft piloted by David Ibotson, 59, from Lincolnshire, crashed into the sea near Guernsey. Salla’s body was found 68 meters below sea level, but Ibtson’s body was not found.
The CAA said it charged Henderson, who allegedly arranged the flight, with two offenses under the Air Navigation Order (2016).
He is accused of acting “negligently / negligently” and engaging in the commercial use of the plane involved in the crash.
CAA Communications Director Richard Stephenson said: “The UK Civil Aviation Authority has prosecuted David Henderson for the crime involved in the January 2019 fatal light plane crash on the English Channel. ”
Henderson, A native of north-east England, he is due to appear in Cardiff Crown Court on October 26.
Prosecution means full inquiries are not expected by 2022.
Keith Morton KC, representing the CAA during the first interrogation of the case in Bournemouth, said: “On September 9, 2020, the CAA issued two summonses against David Henderson for an offense under the Air Navigation Order.
“One, dangerous plane, belongs to two flights, including a return flight on January 21, 2019, which ended in a crash,” he said. A separate offense relates to the license of that particular flight on January 21. He said Henderson appeared before a Cardiff magistrate and denied the allegations.
Dorset coroner Rachel Griffin said it would be in the interests of justice until criminal proceedings against Henderson were completed.
Matthew Reeve, representing Salla’s family, said he opposed the delay. He said: “There is an important public interest in this inquiry and in the interest of public safety, delays should be avoided.
“There is already a two-year delay and the family wants the inquiry to be held as planned. No one needs to imagine the effects of further delays on the family. “
Speaking later, Daniel Machver of law firm Hickman & Rose, who represents the footballer’s mother, Mercedes Tafarel, said he was disappointed.
He said: “His mother is desperate to know the full truth about how this could have happened, and the CAA is urged to proceed with her criminal case as soon as possible so that it can be established. Can be investigated, and such deaths are prevented. ”
A report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch on the crash found that neither Ibtson nor the aircraft was licensed to operate commercially, but evidence indicated that a fee was to be paid.
Unlicensed charter flight operations – known as gray charters – usually have lower operating costs.
The interrogation hearing was seen on a video link by Ibbatson’s wife, Nora, who met with legal representatives for Cardiff City and the CAA. The probe was adjourned till December 15.
