Footballer Emiliano Sala died as a result of a plane crash, having been overcome by toxic levels of carbon monoxide during an unlicensed commercial flight, an inquest jury has concluded.
The Argentina-born striker died from head and chest injuries but was deeply unconscious, having been poisoned by fumes from the plane's faulty exhaust system. The jury at Bournemouth Town Hall found that Sala was a passenger on a private plane, being flown by a pilot who did not have the correct authority to fly at night, which broke up when it crashed into the sea.
The 28-year-old player was on board the Piper Malibu flying from Nantes in France to Wales on the evening of January 21 2019 when it crashed in the English Channel close to Guernsey, also killing pilot David Ibbotson, 59, whose body has never been found. Sala was joining then Premier League club Cardiff City in a £15 million transfer from French Ligue 1 side Nantes, which involved football agent Willie McKay.
