Emiliano Sala and Pilot Poisoned by Toxic Levels of Carbon Monoxide Before Plane Crash
Footballer
Emiliano Sala was exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide prior to a fatal
plane crash in the English Channel, a report has revealed.
Sala, 28,
and pilot David Ibbotson crashed on 21 January while travelling to Cardiff from
Nantes in France.
Toxicology
tests on Sala's body showed CO levels in his blood were so great it could have
caused a seizure, unconsciousness or a heart attack.
The Sala
family's lawyer said the report raised further questions.
Mr Ibbotson,
from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, has still not been found, but it is likely he
would also have been exposed to carbon monoxide, the Air Accidents
Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said.
Sala's blood
had a COHb (carboxyhaemoglobin - which forms in red blood cells upon contact
with carbon monoxide) level of 58%.
At this
level, symptoms would include include seizure, unconsciousness and heart
attack, the report said.
It added:
"A COHb level of more than 50% in an otherwise healthy person is generally
considered to be potentially fatal."
Piston
engine aircraft such as the Piper Malibu involved in the crash produce high
levels of carbon monoxide, the report said.
The gas is
normally conveyed away from the aircraft through the exhaust system, but poor
sealing or leaks into the heating and ventilation system can enable it to enter
the cabin.
Several
devices are available to alert pilots over the presence of carbon monoxide.
The AAIB
said they are not mandatory but can "alert pilots or passengers to a
potentially deadly threat".
Daniel
Machover of Hickman & Rose solicitors, who represents the Sala family,
said: "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."
Geraint
Herbert, the AAIB's lead inspector for this investigation, said it is believed
both men were exposed to the gas before the plane crashed.
"Symptoms
at low exposure levels [to carbon monoxide] can be drowsiness and dizziness,
but as the exposure level increases, it can lead to unconsciousness and
death," he added.
"The
investigation continues to look into a wide range of areas in relation to this
accident, but in particular we are looking at the potential ways in which
carbon monoxide can enter the cabin in this type of aircraft."
The
investigation into the crash is ongoing and is not expected to report its full
findings until early 2020.
The bulletin
- the second to be released following the crash - highlights the dangers of
exposure to carbon monoxide in piston and turbine engine aircraft.
The plane
carrying the Argentine striker - Cardiff City's £15m record signing - lost
contact with radar near Guernsey.
Sala signed
for Cardiff on 19 January - just two days before the crash - and had returned
to Nantes to say goodbye to his former teammates.
An official
search was called off on 24 January after Guernsey's harbour master said
the chances of survival were "extremely remote".
But an
online appeal started by Sala's agent raised £324,000 (371,000 euros) for a
private search, led by marine scientist and oceanographer David Mearns.
Sala's
body was recovered from the wreckage of the Piper Malibu N264DB on 7
February and subsequently repatriated to Argentina.
Mr Ibbotson
has still not been found, but it has since been discovered he was not
qualified to fly at night.
Following
Sala's death, Nantes and Cardiff City have been involved in a dispute over the
transfer fee after the Welsh club claimed the deal was not legally binding.
Sala's
family and friends later claimed he had been "abandoned like a
dog"before his death.
His father
Horacio died in April, three months after his son, after suffering a heart
attack at home in Progreso, Argentina.
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