Emiliano Sala and pilot ‘probably poisoned by fumes’

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, 59, crashed on 21 January while travelling from Nantes in France to Cardiff.

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 said there should be a detailed examination of the plane.

Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, North Lincolnshire, has still not been found.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) 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.

It added: “A COHb level of more than 50% in an otherwise healthy person is generally considered to be potentially fatal.”

It is likely Mr Ibbotson would also have been exposed to carbon monoxide.

Piston engine aircraft such as the Piper Malibu involved in the crash produce high levels of carbon monoxide.

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 – they are not mandatory but can “alert pilots or passengers to a potentially deadly threat”.

Retired pilot and aviation safety commentator Terry Tozer said the finding was “a surprise”, adding: “It shows you can never tell what the root cause of an accident is until the investigators have dug into the nitty gritty.

“How and why did the carbon monoxide get in? Presumably through the exhaust system… the fumes get into the ventilation system.”

Mr Tozer said he had never encountered anything similar before and would not expect carbon monoxide poisoning to be a big risk on such an aircraft.

He added: “It’s not like a car where you can open the windows. It can creep up on you, and that could be a slow process.

“It’s odourless so you wouldn’t necessarily know you were being fed these fumes unless you had a detection system – but that isn’t mandatory for this type of aircraft.”

Mr Tozer agreed with the Sala family that salvaging the wreckage and examining it would be the only way to find how the leak occurred.

“Aviation accidents usually come about when a number of factors accumulate.

“So, we start with the pilot and his lack of qualifications, then circumstances that delay the flight to night time, possibly feeling pressure the pilot then takes off when he shouldn’t and finds weather that he is struggling with and the final straw is that his ability is impaired by poisoning from a leak in the exhaust and he loses control.”