The heartbroken family of footballer Emiliano Sala have begun legal action over his death in an air crash.
As first reported by the Daily Mirror the owners of the plane and the two clubs involved, Nantes and Cardiff City FC, are among 13 defendants named in a civil action lodged in London by his mother, sister and brother.
The plane carrying Argentinian Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson plunged into the Channel on the night of January 21, 2019.
Sala had just signed for Cardiff City from French side Nantes. The pre-inquest hearing is to be heard on Wednesday in Bournemouth.
Solicitor Daniel Machover said the case had been lodged at the High Court to protect the family’s right to sue after the inquest.
Mr Machover said: “The family know the inquest will provide the answers to the very many questions they have about what went wrong in January 2019 and why Emiliano’s life was cut short.”
Investigators found Ibbotson’s pilot’s licence had expired and he had no night-flying training. The plane’s autopilot and brakes were allegedly faulty and it had no carbon monoxide detectors.
The first defendant in the family’s action is David Henderson, who allegedly arranged the flight from Nantes to Cardiff in the Piper Malibu plane.
The company that allegedly owned the plane, Cool Flourish Ltd, and its majority shareholder Fay Keely, are also defendants, as is Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc and Ltd, a Suffolk-based trustee firm used to register the plane in the US.
Father and son agents Willie and Mark McKay and their company are also defendants.
The makers of the plane Piper Aircraft are also named, as are Eastern Air Executive, an air taxi firm, and Aerotech Aircraft Maintenance Ltd. Cardiff City and FC Nantes are the final defendants.
Mr Sala’s body was recovered, but Mr Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, has never been found.
The Bluebirds have been demanding answers of their own about what happened and who organised the flight. They say Sala was offered a normal commercial flight to return to the UK.
The Bluebirds have enlisted the help of a top law firm to look into the case for them.
