Emiliano Sala flight organiser ran a 'cowboy outfit', court hears

David Henderson was the aircraft's operator since its purchase in 2015

The organiser of the flight in which footballer Emiliano Sala died ran a "cowboy outfit", a court heard.

David Henderson, 67, of Main Street, Hotham, East Riding of Yorkshire, denies endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Sala and pilot David Ibbotson died in the crash in the English Channel in January 2019.

Mr Henderson told Cardiff Crown Court he did not know which flight qualifications his pilots had.

During cross-examination, Mr Henderson was asked why.

"What sort of cowboy outfit were you running at this time that you didn't know if your pilot had his ratings or not?" asked Martin Goudie QC, prosecuting.

In a message to Mr Ibbotson at the time, Mr Henderson advised the pilot they did not want to "draw the attention of the [Civil Aviation Authority] CAA".

Referring to this message, Mr Goudie asked: "Isn't the true situation that you didn't want anyone looking at how you were running these flights because you knew you were running them illegally?"

Mr Henderson replied: "There's probably some element of that, yes."

Read more on this court case:

• Sala flight organiser 'distressed' after crash

• Sala pilot did not have permission to fly plane

• Sala flight organiser 'hired unqualified pilot'

Earlier on Friday, Mr Henderson told the jury he had "definitely not" pressurised the pilot to fly from Nantes to Cardiff.

When it was put to him that he knew that Mr Ibbotson didn't have the qualifications to fly at night, Mr Henderson said: "I made every attempt to persuade him to get one, but he would have told me if he'd got one."

The prosecution alleges Henderson was "reckless and negligent" in allowing Mr Ibbotson to fly because he was not qualified to fly at night and did not have a commercial pilot's licence.

In a statement made after he was arrested, Mr Henderson said the flights were due to take place during the day and that he expected Mr Ibbotson to comply with his obligations, the court heard.

He told the jury: "If he didn't have the rating to fly, I would have expected him not to do so."

Sala's body was recovered, but Mr Ibbotson, 59, from Crowley, Lincolnshire, has never been found

Mr Henderson said he accepted David Ibbotson only had a private pilot's licence rather than a commercial pilot's licence, which would have allowed him to accept money to fly.

He said Mr Ibbotson was the only one of his pilots who was in that position, but he was a pilot with significant experience of over 20 years.

He said he did not tell the football agent who had asked him to fly Sala from Nantes that Mr Ibbotson was not qualified to fly because he was confident he was an "experienced pilot who was keen and enthusiastic and wanted to fly".

But Mr Henderson also accepted he knew he was flying in breach of regulations every time Mr Ibbotson was flying as he was being paid when he didn't have a commercial licence.

The jurors have heard that messages sent by Mr Henderson after the crash included telling aircraft engineer David Smith to "keep very quiet", adding: "Need to be very careful. Opens up a whole can of worms."

Mr Goudie said: "We know why you said that, because Mr Ibbotson should never have been on that flight. This is about a cover-up, this text message, isn't it?"

Mr Henderson told the court he was concerned with the wrong information being leaked to the press, and said: "I was not covering up."

The trial continues.