Emiliano Sala death: Lower standards of training used

A pilot and aviation expert has said the death of Emilano Sala was caused by greed, due to the avoidance of using a commercial charter operator for the flight that killed him.

Cat Burton said the so-called "grey charter" used in the Sala flight meant there were lower standards of training and plane maintenance.

"It just shows that this was all done for greed, there is no real reason to use grey charter when normal charter, genuine legitimate charter is so readily available.

"It could have been done for just a few thousand pounds, very safely," she said.

Ms Burton added that a grey charter is conducted by an operator which does not have a licence very often, with a plane that is not maintained to commercial airport standards and also flown by a pilot who has not got a suitable raft of qualifications.

28 October 2021