Sala crash report says plane not licensed for commercial use

Published February 25, 2019

People leave flowers on Emiliano Sala's coffin at the cemetery in Santa Fe, Argentina, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. The Argentina-born forward died in an airplane crash in the English Channel last month when flying from Nantes in France to start his new career with English Premier League club Cardiff. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Nantes defender Nicolas Pallois, second riht, and family and friends of Argentina soccer player Emiliano Sala carry Sala's coffin during his funeral in Progreso, Argentina, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. The Argentina-born forward died in an airplane crash in the English Channel last month when flying from Nantes in France to start his new career with English Premier League club Cardiff. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Air accident investigators say the plane carrying soccer player Emiliano Sala was not licensed for commercial use by authorities.

The initial report from the Air Accident Investigation Branch says investigators have yet to determine if it could be classified as a private flight if costs were being shared, so commercial flight regulations were not applicable.

The United States-registered single-engine aircraft crashed into the English Channel while flying last month from the French city of Nantes to Wales, where Sala was preparing to start a new career with Premier League club Cardiff.

Sala's body was recovered from the seabed wreckage two weeks after the crash but the other person on board — the pilot — is still missing.

The AAIB says "it is thought that the pilot's license and logbook were lost with the aircraft and so the ratings on his licenses and their validity, and the extent of his recent flying have not yet been determined."

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