More than a year after the death of Emiliano Sala, investigations continue to find out the responsibilities for the accident suffered by the Argentine footballer who was on board a plane to Wales that fell into the English Channel.
British police said they will drop the charges of “involuntary manslaughter” on a man who allegedly organized the fateful flight that left from Nantes.
After a “thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding Sala’s death,” police “will not seek a manslaughter charge” against the suspect, a 64-year-old man, Detective Simon Huxter said in a Dorset police statement.
The British newspaper The Times had identified the suspect, who was arrested in June 2019 and released the same day, as private pilot David Henderson.
According to said media, it was he who acted as an intermediary in the organization of the Argentine soccer player’s flight, but he did not pilot the day of the accident.
The plane in which Sala and British pilot David Ibbotson were traveling fell into the waters of the English Channel on January 21, 2019 when the striker recently transferred by the French club Nantes was addressing the Welshman Cardiff to join that team.
The body of the 28-year-old Argentine, whose disappearance shocked the soccer world, was found in the remains of the plane, at the bottom of the sea, more than two weeks later. However, the body of Ibbotson, 59, was never found.
According to the autopsy, Sala died of “injuries to the head and trunk”. Other reports indicated that the footballer’s death may have been from inhalation of carbon monoxide .
Despite dropping the charges against the suspect, “the investigation into how the flight was managed continues,” said Dorset police, who promised to “continue to assist” the Civil Aviation Authority in its inquiries.
After establishing that the plane was not authorized to operate commercial flights, the British air accident investigation office is due to publish its report on Friday.
Source: 442
