A businessman has been jailed for 18 months over the plane crash that killed footballer Emiliano Sala.
The 28-year-old striker and pilot David Ibbotson, 59, died when the small plane they were flying in entered the English Channel in January 2019.
David Henderson, 67, of Hotham in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was convicted of endangering the safety of the aircraft after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court in October.
Henderson pleaded guilty to another charge of trying to arrange a flight for a passenger without permission or authorisation.
The flight the Argentinian player took was organised by Henderson, who was the plane’s operator, with football agent William “Willie” McKay.
At the time, Sala was involved in a £15 million transfer to Cardiff City from Nantes FC, and was travelling between the two cities when he died.
Henderson’s wife wept in court on Friday as Mr Justice Foxton sentenced her husband to 18 months in prison for endangering an aircraft, with a three-month sentence, to run concurrently, for attempting to discharge a passenger.
Mr Justice Foxton ruled at the start of the hearing that the victim impact statement of Sala’s mother, Mercedes Taffarel, would not be read out in court after concerns were raised by Henderson’s defence about its contents.
“My decision is not meant to diminish the devastating impact of the crash on Mrs Taffarel,” Mr Justice Foxton said.
Prosecutor Martin Goudie QC had told the judge that Henderson was not “pressured” into organising the flight by Mr McKay, and did so “for financial advantage”.
However, he said Henderson had no previous convictions and was of previous good character.
Stephen Spence QC, defending, told the judge his client did not necessarily profit from the flight and that pressure “could take many forms”.
Mr Spence said: “People speak very highly of him both as a person but, interestingly, as a pilot.”
But he said the crash and subsequent trial had damaged Henderson’s reputation, ridding him of his “life and livelihood”.
Henderson was said to have been affected physically and mentally by the crash and subsequent trial, and is now on beta blockers for a heart condition.
“It has also had a knock-on effect on his wife, who has been in court throughout the proceedings and is in court today,” Mr Spence said.
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