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Cardiff FC and a global aviation body are calling for a Guernsey-based air charter company backed by Iron Maiden’s frontman to be investigated over flights provided to a Premier League football star in the weeks before he died in a plane crash.
According to air charter association Baca, Channel Jets provided seven flights to Emiliano Sala before the Piper Malibu plane he was travelling on with pilot Dave Ibbotson tragically plunged into the sea near Alderney in late January.
Those included trips between Cardiff and Paris and Nantes between 8 and 18 January so that the Nantes footballer could visit his future stadium and undergo medical checks ahead of his move to the Bluebirds.
Pictured: Channel Jets provided several flights to the Argentinian footballer who lost his life in a plane crash earlier this year.
Some of these flights, the Telegraph reported, even involved Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson’s former personal plane, which used to carry the band’s logo.
But Baca has since raised concerns with the Civil Aviation Authority over whether this should have been allowed.
While Channel Jets hold an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) – a licence to operate commercial flights – it is believed that this didn’t apply to the aircraft used in Sala’s journeys.
The flights were therefore listed on flight plans as non-commercial, meaning that they would have been subject to strict rules governing how they can be funded.
It later emerged, however, that one of the planes used had been registered in the US, but was re-registered in Guernsey and placed under the AOC little over a week after Sala’s plane crash.
Pictured: The Piper Malibu plane which tragically plunged into the Channel whilst carrying Emiliano Sala and his pilot Dave Ibbotson.
Given the circumstances, Baca therefore said it had sufficient concern over how the flights were conducted to make a referral to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for investigation.
This referral also included flights provided by Surrey-based Flexifly and one piloted by the heir to the stately home used in Downton Abbey, Lord Porchester.
If they decide to pursue the matter further, the CAA will be able to probe any potential breaches of aviation rules and licensing surrounding Sala’s accident, while the Air Accidents Investigations Bureau (AAIB) will continue its review of the circumstances surrounding the crash off the coast of Alderney.
Cardiff FC have since thrown their weight behind Baca’s calls for investigation, who said there need to be “industry-wide, enforceable safeguards to be put in place to ensure no further tragedies occur”.
Channel Jets, which was set up in late 2017 by Aeris, have so far not provided a public comment on the matter, but told UK media that they have passed all information about the flights they provided to Sala to the CAA.
Pictured: The aviation company Aeris Aviation, backed by Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson, set up Channel Jets in 2017. (Aeris Aviation/Press Association)
Chief Executive of Baca Dave Edwards commented: “Commercial flights operate under an entirely different framework to private ones. With a private flight, it is just one pilot there to protect the travelling public. There is no behind-the-scenes depth and breadth to the safety management.
“The travelling public need a fuller and better understanding of the additional risks they are putting themselves under when they choose any option other than a commercial charter flight.”
It’s now been nearly two months since the accident that claimed the lives of Sala and pilot Dave Ibbotson.
Sala’s body was recovered from the plane’s wreck off the coast of Alderney, but Mr Ibbotson’s was never found – despite efforts by crowdfunded deep sea divers.
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