Emiliano Sala (Photo Ansa)
LONDON – Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson would have been poisoned with carbon monoxide before their plane crashed into the English Channel. This was revealed by a report by the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB), the investigative structure of the British Department of Transportation, which is responsible for analyzing every type of aviation accident in the United Kingdom.
The toxicological analyzes carried out have found in the blood of Sala, whose body was found two weeks after the crash, "a high level of COHb saturation, the combination produced of carbon monoxide and hemoglobin", higher than what is considered to be potentially fatal. According to investigators, it is likely that the pilot may have suffered fatal poisoning , as the cabin is unique on the Piper.
The discovery could therefore explain why David Ibbotson, the pilot of the Piper Malibu N264DB aircraft, has lost control of the aircraft, given that the main effect of carbon monoxide poisoning is a loss of consciousness.
Toxicological tests on the body of Sala, a former 29-year-old Nantes player, showed that the levels of CO in the blood were so high that it could have caused convulsions, heart attacks and, indeed, loss of consciousness.
Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson crashed on January 21st, 2019 during a trip to Cardiff, in which Sala's team was supposed to play, from the French city of Nantes. The body of the pilot David Ibbotson has not yet been found.
The reaction of the Sala family
The Sala family issued an immediate declaration following the news, asking that the investigation section on air accidents start an immediate attempt to save the wreckage of the plane, which remained in the bottom of the Channel.
"That dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide have been found in Emiliano's body raises many questions for the family," said Daniel Machover of Hickman & Rose, a lawyer for the Sala family. "The family believes that a detailed technical examination of the aircraft is necessary and appeals to the AAIB to save the wreckage of the plane without further delay," the lawyer added. (Sources: Ansa, Agi)
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Source: Blitz Quotidiano