Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#201 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Wed Aug 14, 2019 2:53 pm

A perfect storm around this accident. A non-instrument rated private pilot takes off on a night flight for commercial gain into known icing conditions with a medical restriction on night flying due to color blindness in an aircraft that may have been compromised by a faulty heating or exhaust system! What could have gone wrong?

It is rumored that the well known ferry pilot originally slated to fly the 'charter' has been interviewed by the police.
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#202 Post by llondel » Wed Aug 14, 2019 3:26 pm

His reasons for not flying might be interesting. Or they could be mundane, if his kid got taken ill or similar.

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#203 Post by FD2 » Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:06 pm

What sort of heater do these aircraft have? Is it some sort of heat exchanger around the exhaust? My fixed wing experience is limited to the Chipmunk - I don't remember any heating in them!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/0 ... -monoxide/

Here is the whoe article:

Family demand Sala plane is salvaged after 'potentially fatal' carbon monoxide levels revealed

Tom Morgan, Sports News Correspondent

14 August 2019 • 2:08pm

The Emiliano Sala plane tragedy may have been caused by the footballer and his pilot breathing deadly levels of carbon monoxide in the cockpit.

Toxicology tests on Sala show he had a carbon monoxide saturation of 58 per cent in his blood.

Anything over 50 per cent is likely to cause "seizure, unconsciousness, heart attack", according to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

The discovery raises new questions over the air-worthiness of the Piper PA-46 Malibu that crashed into the English Channel on Jan 21.

Pilot Dave Ibbotson, a part-time gas engineer, was at the controls despite only holding a private licence. Sala and the pilot died as the player completed a £15million transfer to Cardiff City from Nantes.

Legal recriminations are ongoing between the clubs. David Henderson, who arranged the flight on behalf of the agent Willie McKay, is currently on bail, having been arrested in June on suspicion of manslaughter.

The AAIB said in a statement: "Toxicology tests found that the passenger had a high saturation level of COHb (the combination product of carbon monoxide and haemoglobin). It is considered likely that the pilot would also have been exposed to carbon monoxide."

A full report on the crash is still pending but Sala's family demanded investigators salvage the wreckage of the plane from the English Channel.

A "detailed examination" was necessary in the wake of the carbon monoxide results, a lawyer for the family said.

Daniel Machover, of Hickman & Rose solicitors, said: “That dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide have been found in Emiliano’s body raises many questions for the family. How he died will be determined at the inquest in due course. The family believe that a detailed technical examination of the plane is necessary.

"The family and the public need to know how the carbon monoxide was able to enter the cabin. Future air safety rests on knowing as much as possible on this issue.

"Emiliano’s family call on the AAIB to salvage the wreckage of the plane without further delay.”

A previous interim AAIB bulletin on the tragedy confirmed the mystery owner of the plane made no attempts to apply to either American or British authorities for commercial use.

Investigators are still establishing whether the doomed flight took place on a "cost sharing" basis, which does not breach Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidelines.

The US-registered Piper Malibu N264DB, unlicensed for commercial flying, fell thousands of feet in the space of 20 seconds after making a 180-degree turn, minutes after Ibbotson requested a descent.

Wreckage was found on the seabed 30 metres from where final radar readings located it at an altitude of 1,600ft (488m), suggesting it had dropped almost vertically in its final moments, the interim report found.

About 15 minutes before the crash took place at 8.16pm on Jan 21, an air traffic controller had asked Ibbotson, a part-time gas engineer, whether he needed to drop further in altitude, apparently to avoid cloud and maintain vision.

The pilot replied: "Negative, just avoided a patch there, but back on heading five thousand feet."

The plane then "climbed rapidly" to about 2,300 ft before it crashed into the sea breaking into three pieces at around 8.16pm on Jan 21.

The aircraft, which was built in 1984, has papers held by a company based in Norfolk, Southern Aircraft Consultancy.

Ibbotson, who had previously written on Facebook that he was "rusty", had reportedly filled out forms incorrectly before take off. On one, he was said to have written N246DB instead of N264DB.

He is also said to have been qualified to fly at night only if conditions were clear without any bad weather.

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#204 Post by Pontius Navigator » Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:00 am

5,000 feet, level of partial pressure of oxygen lower than sea level. Level of CO pp would therefore be higher.

Icing conditions suggest a cold cabin therefore heating turned up.

When a descent was requested it is possible that the pilot was already hypoxic and unknowingly becoming incapacitated.

Thoughts?

PS, we were taught to use oxygen at night above 4,000 ft as reduced oxygen reduced night vision.

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#205 Post by Woody » Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:34 am

When all else fails, read the instructions.

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#206 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:04 pm

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#207 Post by Boac » Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:28 pm

An extremely thorough report.

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#208 Post by Boac » Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:09 am


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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#209 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Mon Oct 19, 2020 8:08 am

David Henderson to be prosecuted...
A British pilot is to be prosecuted in connection with the plane crash in which the Argentinian professional footballer Emiliano Sala died.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revealed on Thursday it had charged David Henderson, 66, with two offences relating to the accident over the Channel last year.

Striker Sala, 28, was being flown from Nantes in France to his new club, Cardiff City, on 21 January 2019 when the light aircraft being piloted by David Ibbotson, 59, from Lincolnshire, plunged into the sea near Guernsey. Sala’s body was recovered from the seabed 68 metres down but Ibbotson’s body has not been found.

The CAA said it has charged Henderson, who allegedly arranged the flight, with two offences under the Air Navigation Order (2016).

He is accused of acting in a “reckless/negligent” manner, and being involved in the commercial use of the plane involved in the crash.

Richard Stephenson, the CAA communications director, said: “The UK Civil Aviation Authority has commenced a prosecution of David Henderson for offences associated with the fatal light aircraft accident over the English Channel in January 2019.”

Henderson, who is from north-east England, is due to appear at Cardiff crown court on 26 October.

The prosecution means a full inquest is not expected to take place until 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... rash-death

One hopes that the football "agents" will have their collars felt too.
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#210 Post by Mrs Ex-Ascot » Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:05 am

No surprises here, a plea of Not Guilty; https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... kless.html
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#211 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Tue Oct 27, 2020 10:05 am

Mrs Ex-Ascot wrote:
Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:05 am
No surprises here, a plea of Not Guilty; https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... kless.html
Dave Henderson is a well know commercially licensed ferry pilot who (as noted earlier in the thread) was interviewed by the BBC about his job some years ago. It will be interesting to hear what his side of this story is.

The people I really feel sorry for in this sad story are Sala's family and Dave Ibbotson's partner/wife who has been left financially destitute and bereaved as well (they never found his body). There is a moral in this whole sad episode for any pilot who is tempted to sail close to the wind with respect to the regulations here.
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Dave Henderson pleads guilty to one charge...

#212 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:22 pm

A man has admitted a charge relating to the flight in which the Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala was killed when the plane he was travelling in crashed into the sea off the Channel Islands while en route to the UK from France.

David Henderson, 67, was involved in the arrangement of the flight that was bringing 28-year-old Sala from Nantes to Cardiff in January 2019.

Appearing at Cardiff crown court, Henderson, from Hotham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, admitted attempting to “discharge a passenger” without the “required permission or authorisation”.

The particulars of the charge are that on 21 January 2019 as the operator of an aircraft he attempted to cause the plane to “discharge” Sala at Cardiff. The particulars added that the aircraft was not registered in the UK. The offence is contrary to sections of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and schedules of the Air Navigation Order 2016.

Henderson denies a second charge, that he acted in a reckless or negligent manner likely to endanger the aircraft contrary to rules set out in the Air Navigation Order 2016. A jury is due to hear a trial on this charge this week.

The charge(s) is/are that on 18 and 19 January, Henderson allegedly organised a flight to carry Sala when the flight did not have the required authorisation or permission; and/or the pilot, David Ibbotson, did not have a commercial pilot’s licence; and/or Ibbotson’s rating to fly the type of aircraft involved had expired; and/or bad weather was forecast and he was not competent to fly in such weather.

The single-engine Piper Malibu aircraft was flying Sala from Nantes to Cardiff City, then a Premier League club, as part of a multimillion-pound transfer deal when it crashed.

Sala’s body was recovered from the seabed the following month, but neither the body of Ibbotson, 59, from Crowle, Lincolnshire, nor the plane’s wreckage have been recovered.

There was a huge outpouring of grief in the Welsh capital following Sala’s death, with thousands of fans leaving tributes outside Cardiff City Stadium.

A jury inquest into the crash has been postponed until after Henderson’s trial and is scheduled for February 2022.

Lawyer Daniel Machover, who represents Sala’s family, has said they would not be attending the trial in person. Sala’s family have repeatedly called for the inquest to take place as quickly as possible so they can learn what happened to the footballer.

They led an independent search for Sala’s body funded by footballers and other well-wishers and have expressed concern that the wreckage of the plane was not recovered.

A high court judge, Mr Justice Foxton, is in charge of the criminal proceedings, which are due to last for two weeks. A jury of seven men and five women was sworn in. Foxton told them: “People may be curious about this case, but you must not let them talk to you about it.”

Henderson, who is on bail, arrived for the hearing with his legal team in a blue suit and tie.

After playing youth football in Argentina and following a short spell in Portugal’s regional leagues, Sala began his professional career in France with Bordeaux, making his professional debut in February 2012. He moved to Nantes, where his good form led to Cardiff’s bid for him.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ight-crash
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#213 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:26 pm

From the BBC....
At a hearing in October 2020, the court heard how Mr Ibbotson's licence to fly an aircraft commercially had expired in November 2018.

The Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) reported at the start of the year that the plane had been leaking carbon monoxide during the flight and a final manoeuvre by Mr Ibbotson to pull up the plane had caused it to break up mid-air.

A jury inquest into his death was postponed until after Henderson's trial and is scheduled for 14 February 2022.

Henderson's trial is expected to last 10 days.
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#214 Post by Woody » Wed Oct 20, 2021 9:44 pm

Bit of an update from today in court.

https://ukaviation.news/sala-plane-cras ... fly-plane/
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#215 Post by Ex-Ascot » Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:53 pm

It seems that the company owner who has been charged is a retired Royal Air Force Officer. Do we know his background?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... a-25319908
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#216 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:32 pm

Ex-Ascot wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:53 pm
It seems that the company owner who has been charged is a retired Royal Air Force Officer. Do we know his background?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... a-25319908
I know nothing of his RAF background but he was well known in ferry flight circles. I suspect that he is well on his way to a custodial sentence on this one.

The plane carrying 28-year-old Sala crashed into the English Channel on the evening of January 21 2019, killing the striker and pilot David Ibbotson, 59.

It took the jury of seven men and five women seven and a half hours to convict Henderson, the aircraft operator, who the trial heard had arranged the flight with football agent William ‘Willie’ McKay.

He had asked Mr Ibbotson to fly the plane as he was away on holiday with his wife in Paris.

Mr Ibbotson, who regularly flew for him, did not hold a commercial pilot’s licence, a qualification to fly at night, and his rating to fly the single-engine Piper Malibu had expired.

The jury heard how just moments after finding out the plane had gone down, Henderson texted a number of people telling them to stay silent warning it would “open a can of worms”.

The father-of-three and former RAF officer admitted in court he had feared an investigation into his business dealings.

Prosecutor Martin Goudie QC said Henderson had been “reckless or negligent” in the way he operated the plane, putting his business above the safety of passengers by using an authorised plane and hiring pilots neither qualified nor competent to complete the flights.

Mr Goudie said Henderson had created a culture of breaching the air navigation regulations among the pilots he hired.

The owner of the plane Fay Keely had told Henderson not to allow Mr Ibbotson to pilot the plane again after being contacted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) about two airspace infringements he had committed.

Despite this Henderson allowed Mr Ibbotson to continue flying, and in a message to the pilot said: “We both have an opportunity to make money out of the business model but not if we upset clients or draw the attention of the CAA.”

Henderson did not have a Foreign Carrier Permit (FCP) which was needed to fly passengers in the American plane, or an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), which he was required to obtain.

And during the trial Mr Goudie accused Henderson of lying in his statements to investigators, and of running a “cowboy outfit” after questioning the defendant over why he failed to keep basic information on his pilots.

In his closing speech, he claimed Henderson ran an “incompetent, undocumented and dishonest organisation”.

But Stephen Spence QC, defending, said his client’s actions were “purely a paperwork issue” and had not led to a likelihood of danger.

He said his client knew Mr Ibbotson, who had been flying for decades and had accumulated around 3,500 flying miles, was an experienced pilot.

And that Mr Ibbotson, as pilot of that flight, had been in charge of ensuring their safe passage home.

He told the court the only difference between a commercial licence and the private licence held by Mr Ibbotson was whether you could carry passengers for money or not, and not about ability.

Henderson also argued on the stand that he had phoned Ms Keely after she forbade Mr Ibbotson from flying and convinced her to let him pilot again.

Ms Keely said she does not remember such a call.

Henderson, of Hotham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, had already admitted a separate offence of attempting to discharge a passenger without valid permission or authorisation.

Judge Mr Justice Foxton granted Henderson bail to return to be sentenced for both offences on November 12.

He faces maximum sentences of five years imprisonment for endangering the aircraft and two years for the lesser charge.

Kate Staples, general counsel at the CAA, said: “Our thoughts remain with the families and friends that were affected by this accident in January 2019.

“Aviation safety relies upon the integrity of everyone involved in the industry.

“Unlawful and unsafe activity such as Mr Henderson’s is unacceptable and the UK Civil Aviation Authority will always look to prosecute illegal activity.”
https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/ ... on-guilty/

As noted before on this thread, Mr Henderson was the subject of a BBC documentary on a ferry pilot's job...
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#217 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:40 pm

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#218 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:55 pm

TheGreenGoblin wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:32 pm
Ex-Ascot wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 12:53 pm
It seems that the company owner who has been charged is a retired Royal Air Force Officer. Do we know his background?

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... a-25319908
I know nothing of his RAF background but he was well known in ferry flight circles. I suspect that he is well on his way to a custodial sentence on this one.
The original aviation Dave Henderson was a very interesting guy indeed.

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/the-f ... -air-forc/
In June 1917 the first of the day light bombing raids on London was made coupled with revolution in Russia, mutinies in the French Army and heavy losses incurred by U-boats on merchant vessels supplying Britain the new government under David Lloyd George were worried that the tide of the war may be flowing against them. A South African politician Jan Christian Smuts was appointed to investigate and report on the state of Britain’s air defences, the Air Board and the dual air forces of the RFC and RNAS and to make recommendations for improvements. It was obvious that Smuts would seek the advice of those most experienced in air power for help, one of who was Henderson. Henderson had already sent his thoughts to Smuts, when he wrote

It is difficult to indicate any method of overcoming the present illogical situation of divided responsibility in aeronautics, except by the formation of a complete united service dealing with all operations in the air, and with all the accessory services which that expression implies. A department would have to be formed on the general lines of the Admiralty and the War Office, with a full staff, and with a full responsibility for war in the air.

The Smuts report was largely accepted by the government in which a single unified air force was advocated along with an air ministry to organise it. Henderson left his post in August 1917 as DGMA to concentrate on the work of the Air Organisation Committee, helping Smuts draft the Air Force (Constitution) Act 1917. The act was placed before parliament in November and passed without opposition, receiving Royal assent on 29 November. The Air Ministry and Air Council came into being in January 1918, the RAF being established in April 1918 with the amalgamation of the RFC and RNAS.
Smuts was a renowned general and confidante to Churchill... (to the sniffy nincompoop who wrote this article)....
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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#219 Post by Boac » Thu Oct 28, 2021 2:13 pm

a retired Royal Air Force Officer.
I saw somewhere he had completed some flying training and 'left' the RAF. 2 years total, I believe.

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Re: Piper Malibu missing north of Alderney!

#220 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Oct 28, 2021 2:34 pm

Boac wrote:
Thu Oct 28, 2021 2:13 pm
a retired Royal Air Force Officer.
I saw somewhere he had completed some flying training and 'left' the RAF. 2 years total, I believe.
Henderson says he was born in Hull and spent a lot of time on the Moors where he saw the RAF practicing. He applied and was accepted for the RAF as a training navigator and completed officer training.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wale ... l-21887929
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