WiseOwl
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BBC News earlier today:
An investigation into the missing flight that was carrying Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala will look at "all operational aspects" including licensing and flight plans. The Piper PA-46 Malibu disappeared on Monday with Cardiff City's new signing and pilot Dave Ibbotson on board.
A search near Guernsey was called off on Thursday afternoon despite pleas from Sala's sister. The Air Accident Investigation Branch said it had launched a probe.
Mr Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, held a private pilot's licence and passed a medical exam as recently as November, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. The Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was registered in the US, so fell under its regulations. US law states private pilots cannot make a profit by carrying passengers.
There were "alarm bells all around" the incident, aviation consultant Alastair Rosenchein told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme. He said: "The one issue is whether a single-engine air craft should be flying at night, in winter, over water and with passengers. "This is the real issue - it is a really bad combination."
Mr Rosenchein explained that if the engine failed, the pilot would need to land - and at night he would not have visual cues to rely on. He said despite only 1,400 of the planes being built there was a "quite significant" number of deaths and injuries from flights involving them.
Argentine striker Sala, 28, signed for Cardiff from Nantes last weekend and was travelling between the cities on Monday night. At 19:15 GMT, Mr Ibbotson made a request to descend, before losing contact with Jersey air traffic control. An extensive search took place, but Guernsey's harbour master explained a "difficult" decision was made to call it off, saying the chances of survival were "extremely remote".
An investigation into the missing flight that was carrying Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala will look at "all operational aspects" including licensing and flight plans. The Piper PA-46 Malibu disappeared on Monday with Cardiff City's new signing and pilot Dave Ibbotson on board.
A search near Guernsey was called off on Thursday afternoon despite pleas from Sala's sister. The Air Accident Investigation Branch said it had launched a probe.
Mr Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, held a private pilot's licence and passed a medical exam as recently as November, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. The Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was registered in the US, so fell under its regulations. US law states private pilots cannot make a profit by carrying passengers.
There were "alarm bells all around" the incident, aviation consultant Alastair Rosenchein told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme. He said: "The one issue is whether a single-engine air craft should be flying at night, in winter, over water and with passengers. "This is the real issue - it is a really bad combination."
Mr Rosenchein explained that if the engine failed, the pilot would need to land - and at night he would not have visual cues to rely on. He said despite only 1,400 of the planes being built there was a "quite significant" number of deaths and injuries from flights involving them.
Argentine striker Sala, 28, signed for Cardiff from Nantes last weekend and was travelling between the cities on Monday night. At 19:15 GMT, Mr Ibbotson made a request to descend, before losing contact with Jersey air traffic control. An extensive search took place, but Guernsey's harbour master explained a "difficult" decision was made to call it off, saying the chances of survival were "extremely remote".
