Accidents
UK Prosecution Shines Light on Illegal Charter Flights
Two years after a highly publicized airplane crash, a criminal prosecution addresses a persistent problem.
The Piper Malibu PA46-310P whose crash ended the life of Argentinian soccer player Emiliano Sala.
The Piper Malibu PA46-310P whose crash ended the life of Argentinian soccer player Emiliano Sala.

A little over two years have passed since the crash off the French coast of a Piper Malibu that ended the life of Argentinian soccer player Emiliano Sala. The English Premier League star—who was on his way to Wales, where he had just been signed by Cardiff City—was the sole passenger on the 1984-built, U.S.-registered piston-single (N264DB) being flown by pilot David Ibbotson, who was also killed in the crash.

The accident on Jan. 21, 2019, made headlines globally due to Sala’s celebrity, and the European charter industry noted at the time that the crash bore the hallmarks of an illegal or “gray” charter operation.

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