The British pilot David henderson This Monday he declared himself “not guilty” before a Welsh court of two charges related to the fatal accident that in January 2019 cost the life of the ill-fated Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala.
Henderson appeared today by videoconference at a hearing held at the Cardiff Court (Wales), in which he denied having put the “security” of the device in which the player lost his life at risk and also denied having tried to operate a plane to transport a passenger “without a valid license or authorization.”
The man, a native of the English town of East Riding, in the county of Yorkshire (in the north of the country), was on probation pending the start of the judicial process in October 2021.
Henderson, who was the pilot who was originally going to charter the plane in which the player had to travel from Nantes (France) to Cardiff (Wales), had already appeared in a preliminary court hearing on September 28.
The defendant offered to carry out that service to another pilot, David Ibbotson, 59, who died in the incident and whose body has not yet been found.
Henderson is accused of being “careless and negligent” and of being involved in the commercial use of the crashed aircraft.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority – regulatory body – confirmed today that “the judicial process of David Henderson for crimes associated with the fatal accident in the English Channel in January 2019″ had begun, although it was considered ” inappropriate to comment until the conclusion of the case. “
The footballer, who was 28 years old at the time of the accident, lost his life along with Ibbotson when the plane that was taking him from Nantes (France) to Cardiff (Wales) crashed in the English Channel on 21 January 2019.