Sala pilot didn’t have proper licenses

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David Ibbotson was not licensed to fly the aircraft carrying the former Nantes footballer which went down over the English channel last year.

The AAIB report found that Mr Ibbotson owned a private pilot’s licence, but it did not permit him to receive payment for carrying passengers.

He had also not completed night-flying training, and the Piper Malibu should not have been flown commercially due to regulations it was operated under.

Mr Ibbotson was colourblind and his SEP rating had expired three months before the crash, which qualified him to fly a single-engine piston aeroplane.

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The Air Accidents Investigation Branch published an official report on Friday that concluded the plane hit the sea near Guernsey at an estimated 270 mph (434kph).

Investigators believe Mr Ibbotson and Sala both suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning on the flight, which was likely caused by a fault in the exhaust tailpipe.

The pilot pulled up to avoid adverse weather conditions and the aircraft broke up as he tried to regain control, before descending into a dive and entering the water upside down.

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