International Football
EMILIANO SALA PLANE CRASH: PILOT’S LICENCE FOR SCRUTINY
The pilot of the plane that crashed with Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala on board did not have a licence for commercial flights, investigators say.
According to a BBC report, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch confirmed David Ibbotson held a private pilot’s licence, which meant he could not carry passengers for reward.
Its interim report said he could only fly passengers in the European Union on a cost sharing basis.
It has yet to establish if this was the case with Sala.
The validity of 59-year-old Mr Ibbotson’s licence at the time of the 21 January crash will form part of the AAIB’s investigations going forward.
Sala was found in the wreckage of the Piper Malibu N264DB, which was found on the seabed 13 days after it vanished over the English Channel near Guernsey.
He had completed his transfer to Premier League side Cardiff from French club Nantes just two days earlier – for a club record fee of £15m – and had returned to France to say goodbye to his former teammates.
Mr Ibbotson has not yet been found and his family hope a fresh search for his body will begin this week after setting up an online fundraising campaign which has raised £250,000.
The aircraft remains underwater off the coast of Guernsey after an attempt to recover it was hampered by bad weather.
As flying is an expensive pastime, cost sharing allows pilots to notch up their flying hours while sharing the cost of fuel, landing fees and other expenses with passengers.
The AAIB report said the basis on which Sala was being carried on N264DB “has not yet been established but, previously, the pilot had carried passengers on the basis of ‘cost sharing’”.
Cost sharing on private flights is allowed in the UK and the report said Mr Ibbotson, of Crowle, North Lincolnshire, had operated these type of flights before.
However, the report added that because the aircraft was US-registered, it was subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, which meant he could only make the flight legally if he was paying half the operating expenses.
In addition, Mr Ibbotson needed a “bona fide purpose” for making the flight – also known in aviation as “common purpose” – and must dictate when the flight should leave, the report added.
It is understood the flight’s departure was delayed to allow Sala to say goodbye to his Nantes teammates before he left.
The report said that, on the basis of a cost-sharing flight, it “must not be made for the purpose of merely transporting the passenger”.
This is one area the AAIB said needed further investigation.
The AAIB said the plane was found in three parts on the seabed after a submersible with cameras was sent underwater.
It was “extensively damaged” and the wreckage was held together by electrical and flying control cables, while the engine was disconnected from the cockpit area.
The AAIB said it had been unable to establish how much flying Mr Ibbotson had done recently, as his pilot’s licence and logbook had been lost.
Investigators would normally look to establish how many hours a pilot had flown in the preceding 28 and 90 days before a crash.
Mr Ibbotson had approximately 3,700 flying hours and held a private pilot’s licence in the UK and US.
Air accident investigators will continue to look at all “operational, technical, organisational and human factors” which might have contributed to the crash.
One focus will be further analysis of the
radar information to try and understand the final moments of the flight.
Investigators will analyse video from the wreckage in a bid to determine how the aircraft entered the sea.
An AAIB spokesman said: “We have gathered evidence from radar, weather reports, video of the aircraft on the seabed and interviews with witnesses.
“Some operational aspects are yet to be determined, such as the validity of the pilot’s licence and ratings.
“Our priority now is to go through the evidence, much of which is extensive and complex, so we can piece together what happened between the aircraft being lost from radar and it coming to rest on the sea bed.
“This will help us understand the potential causes of the accident.”
The remit of the AAIB, which is a branch of the Department for Transport, is to conduct safety investigations into the cause of aviation accidents without apportioning blame or liability.
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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