Emiliano Sala report claim ‘invalidates insurance’ and could encourage Cardiff to withhold fee

A preliminary report into the air crash which cost Emiliano Sala his life has raised questions about whether the pilot was legally licensed to carry the player, in a development which could encourage Cardiff City to continue withholding payment to Nantes.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report says the Piper Malibu aircraft was not licensed for commercial use. Pilot Dave Ibbotson, who died along with Sala in the plane, was entitled to transport the player on a private basis. But to do so he would have needed to pay at least half the operating costs of the flight, under aviation rules governing the carrying of passengers.

The rules – which allow non-commercial pilots to gain experience by take passengers on a ‘cost sharing’ basis – also dictate that he needed to have had ‘a bona fide purpose for making the flight’ other than carrying Sala. ‘The flight must not be made for the purpose of merely transporting the passenger,’ the AAIB report stated.

A preliminary report has raised questions over whether pilot Dave Ibbotson (pictured with his wife Nora) was legally licensed to carry Emiliano Sala

Ibbotson, who is still missing after the crash, was entitled to transport the player on a private basis, but he would have needed to pay at least half the operating costs of the flight

There is no known evidence that Ibbotson was making the trip to France for any reason other than taking the player. He was called upon to make the journey at the last minute when Sala – in need of a jet to get home on Saturday January 19 – made it clear at 7.45pm the previous day that he had found no way of making the trip. Agent Willie McKay, mandated by Nantes to find a buyer for Sala, asked his regular first-choice pilot David Henderson to make the flight but he was unavailable.

The AIIB, whose full report may not be published for a year, are likely to investigate whether Ibbotson did comply with ‘cost share’ rules laid out by the US Federal Aviation Authority, which whom the craft was registered.

The interim report did not state who owns the aircraft, though Sportsmail has established that a Derbyshire-based firm called Cool Flourish are at the centre of that aspect of the inquiry.

An experienced football administrator from the top of the English game has told Sportsmail that if the flight turns out not to be fully licensed to fly Sala, then Cardiff’s insurance policy might be invalidated. Cardiff are yet to pay Nantes the first tranche of the £15m transfer fee, despite the club writing to request payment.

The AAIB revealed that the plane had been subject to scheduled maintenance just a few months before with no problems, and was fitted with an ice protection system that allowed it to fly ‘into known icing conditions.”

The report charts the course of the flight before the craft crashed, detailing how the Piper Malibu had climbed to 5,500ft. About 13 nautical miles south of Guernsey, Ibbotson asked for permission to descend to maintain ‘visual meteorological conditions.’ After doing so, air traffic control asked if Ibbotson if he wished to descend further. He responded to say: ‘Negative, just avoided a patch there, but back on heading five thousand feet.’

Cardiff are yet to pay Nantes the first segment of the £15m transfer fee for the striker 

Ten minutes later he made another request to descend. 

There were further descents and ascents, with the penultimate radar sighting suggested the plane may have dropped to 1,600ft.

The AAIB report stated: “It is thought that the pilot’s license and logbook were lost with the aircraft and so the ratings on his licenses and their validity, and the extent of his recent flying have not yet been determined.’ 

The report could encourage Cardiff to continue withholding payment of the £15m transfer fee