David Henderson, the man who organized the trip of Emiliano Sala a Cardiff In which the Argentine footballer died, he entered prison this Friday to serve an 18-month sentence.
The 67-year-old British businessman was convicted last October of two charges related to the safety of the aircraft and the relevant permits, as decided by the court of justice of Cardiff (Gales).
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During the trial, the prosecution charged Henderson of “endangering the safety of the aircraft”, while he himself pleaded guilty to another charge for organizing the flight without having the necessary permits to do so.
Living room, 28, and the pilot David Ibbotson, 59, died on January 21, 2019 in an aviation accident in the English Channel, when the Argentine soccer player was traveling from Nantes a Cardiff after completing his transfer to the Welsh club for around 20 million euros.
The investigating judge explained this Friday that the 18-month sentence corresponds to the first charge, while the second carries a three-month prison sentence, although it will be served at the same time.
Your lawyers will appeal the sentence
The businessman’s lawyers have already advanced that they will appeal the sentence, while the competent authorities will start an independent investigation into this incident next year.
The body of Living room It was recovered days after the accident next to the fuselage of the plane, while that of Ibbotson was never found.
He scheduled the trip despite Ibbotson’s irregularities
During this criminal proceeding, the prosecution explained that Henderson was the person in charge of organizing the trips of the plane in which the footballer died and who scheduled the trip to Cardiff despite knowing Ibbotson’s irregularities.
According to this argument, the owner of the aircraft, Fay Keely, had warned Henderson of not letting Ibbotson fly because he did not have a license to conduct commercial flights and for having received several notices of irregularities from the air authorities.
However, when the intermediaries of the transfer of Living room they commissioned Henderson organize the flight to Cardiff, this, not being in Nantes and being in Paris with his wife, he hired Ibbotson for the job.
Henderson wielded in the trial that convinced Keely to carry out work over the phone, but she said she did not remember that call.
The prosecution attorney, Martin Goudie, assured that Henderson he was “negligent” because of how he operated the plane and that he “put his business above the safety of the passengers by hiring pilots without the necessary qualifications to fly or not competent to complete certain flights.”