2019 English Channel Piper PA-46 crash

On 21 January 2019, a Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Argentine football player Emiliano Sala crashed in the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands. It had been travelling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales, where Sala was due to begin his career with Cardiff City.

Radar contact was lost when the aircraft was 13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi) north of Guernsey. After the search for survivors was abandoned on 24 January, a private search for wreckage was launched. Sala's body was recovered, but no trace of the pilot David Ibbotson was found.

The flight had taken place in cloudy conditions at night, and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) determined that Ibbotson lost control of the aircraft while manoeuvring to avoid cloud at an excessive airspeed, causing an in-flight breakup. Substantial amounts of carbon monoxide had leaked into the cabin, likely rendering Sala unconscious and impairing Ibbotson's judgement. Ibbotson's rating for flying the aircraft had expired in November 2018 which invalidated his licence, he was not qualified to fly at night, and he lacked recent practice flying in instrument meteorological conditions.

David Henderson organised the flight and was originally scheduled to be the pilot. He was found to have operated a commercial flight without holding the required licence or following regulations requiring higher operational standards that may have prevented the accident. He was charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft, was found guilty on 28 October 2021 after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, and was jailed for 18 months.