On the first anniversary of the crash of Piper Malibu N264DB near Guernsey, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has released a statement saying that it at an ‘advanced stage’ of the investigation.
The aircraft disappeared on the 21st January 2019 on a flight from Nantes to Cardiff with Cardiff City Football Club’s latest signing, Emiliano Sala, on board.
The body of Emiliano Sala was found with the wreckage of the aircraft but the body of pilot David Ibbotson has never been found.
The AAIB has been looking at multiple aspects of the accident including technical, organisational and human factors. It released an interim bulletin in August 2019 which showed that Sala had been exposed to ‘potentially fatal levels of Carbon Monoxide’
That is likely to have remained a focus of the investigation which is being carried out with the help of other specialist organisations including the Aircraft Manufacturer Piper and the USA’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The AAIB says it intends to publish its formal report by the end of March 2020.
Tributes are expected to be laid at Cardiff City Stadium today to mark the One Year Anniversary.
