‘ David Henderson found guilty ‘

Emiliano Sala plane crash trial: David Henderson found guilty of endangering the aircraft that crashed and killed Sala

A man has been found guilty of endangering the flight that killed footballer Emiliano Sala.



Thursday 28th October 2021

David Henderson, 67, was accused of failing to follow safety regulations which led to the death of Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson when their plane crashed into the English Channel on a flight from Nantes to Cardiff on January 21, 2019.

He denied acting in a reckless or negligent manner likely to endanger the plane the two men were travelling in, but a jury found him guilty of the charge against him.


The body of Sala, who had just completed a £15m move to Cardiff City FC, was recovered a month after the crash but that of Mr Ibbotson, of Crowle, Lincolnshire, has yet to be recovered.

The jury were out for a total of seven hours and 25 minutes before reaching its verdict.

Defence barrister Stephen Spence asks for sentencing to be adjourned for a pre-sentence report.

Mr Justice Foxton allows the adjournment but warns “all sentencing options are open”.

Sentencing is adjourned until Friday, November 12.

Majoriy verdict, either 11-1 or 10-2
This is a good verdict for Cardiff City!

No surprise here.

I can see nothing less than a prison sentence here.

I wonder if the Nantes fee May now be settled out of court ?

David Henderson, the businessman who organised the flight that crashed, killing Emiliano Sala, has been found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of endangering the safety of an aircraft.

David Henderson, the businessman who organised the flight that crashed, killing Emiliano Sala, has been found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Annis, I may be completely wrong here but I do not think for a minute that the Court of arbtration will come out in favour of City, all they are having to decide is whether Sala was our player or not. But this court verdict this morning shows that Macay was acting for Nantes and he then commissoned Henderson to ferry Sala to Wales.

So if the CoA say we have to pay Nantes then we will have to take Nantes to court for a lot more than £15m!

This is a sad day in many ways, as two men are still dead and nothing can change that

My immediate thoughts are with the families of both Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, the latter of whom has never been found/recovered

The verdict itself is emphatic and has shown David 'Walter Mitty' Henderson to be what he is; a willing participant in actions that he might (likely had previously) got away with but which on this occasion cost lives

I don't know what options are open for the judge but Henderson now has a few days to reflect and worry (if he has an actual conscience after seeing the looks on the faces of him and those alongside leaving Court on TV?) before he learns his fate

Either way, he can absorb that fate, whilst two others cannot in large parts because of his disregarding actions

Sky news reporting that the dispute between Nantes and Cardiff city over the 15million has already been decided by UEFA and FIFA that Cardiff must pay up the money. Cardiff have appealed and the matter will be decided early next year abd even if they lose the appeal Cardiff will then seek another case through the French court. This will certainly cost our club

This is a sad day in many ways, as two men are still dead and nothing can change that

My immediate thoughts are with the families of both Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, the latter of whom has never been found/recovered

The verdict itself is emphatic and has shown David 'Walter Mitty' Henderson to be what he is; a willing participant in actions that he might (likely had previously) got away with but which on this occasion cost lives

I don't know what options are open for the judge but Henderson now has a few days to reflect and worry (if he has an actual conscience after seeing the looks on the faces of him and those alongside leaving Court on TV?) before he learns his fate

Either way, he can absorb that fate, whilst two others cannot in large parts because of his disregarding actions

Chris henderson was gambling with Sala and Ibbotsons lives and has has shown no remorse whasoever, a prison sentence is not enough punishment for me!

David Henderson, the businessman who organised the flight that crashed, killing Emiliano Sala, has been found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Annis, I may be completely wrong here but I do not think for a minute that the Court of arbtration will come out in favour of City, all they are having to decide is whether Sala was our player or not. But this court verdict this morning shows that Macay was acting for Nantes and he then commissoned Henderson to ferry Sala to Wales.

So if the CoA say we have to pay Nantes then we will have to take Nantes to court for a lot more than £15m!

Roger,

I really hope our club is cleared and we come out with our heads held high and we don’t pay and that will prove we were right to fight it and to appeal the decision against us.
Personally I am still very very worried and we all will have to wait now till next year .


But I am glad they found Henderson guilty.

Macay bit worries me as he was also working with Warnock big time and had his lads on our pay roll.

Big 'thanks' to Gary 'castleblue', Paul Keevil and others for taking the time to keep us updated throughout

Very thorough and very factual with informed opinions to support the legal jargon and reporting from the usual media outlets

This indeed is a sad day. The sheer recklessness cost someone their life.

Insofar as the legal proceedings are concerned, as I stated in another post, for me it is a 2 stage affair:

Outcome (1)

1) CAS find that we do owe FC Nantes £15m

then

2) a) CCFC can sue FC Nantes for £15m for being vicariously liable for the loss of their asset.
b) CCFC can also sue FC Nantes for loss of "Potential revenue" as a result of being relegated - and this could be anything from £50m upwards.

Outcome (2)

1) CAS find that the transfer had not gone through and therefore there is no £15m to pay

2 a) We wouldnt need to sue for £15m as we had not paid it
b) We could not sue for loss of "Potential Revenue" as it had been determined he was not our player


Personally I think Outcome (1) will apply. I think the CAS will determine he was our player and that we owe the transfer - it then follows that we can bring a civil action for items 2(a)(b)

..... Personally I think Outcome (1) will apply. I think the CAS will determine he was our player and that we owe the transfer - it then follows that we can bring a civil action for items 2(a)(b)

If Nantes see it the same way, will they drop their claim against us. Seems the more cost effective option for them.

All very sad that this continues when Emiliano and David lost their lives and their families have to live through this.

Sky news reporting that the dispute between Nantes and Cardiff city over the 15million has already been decided by UEFA and FIFA that Cardiff must pay up the money. Cardiff have appealed and the matter will be decided early next year abd even if they lose the appeal Cardiff will then seek another case through the French court. This will certainly cost our club

As been pointed out if as expected cas finds against club we are then in position to sue nante for fee and possibly loss earnings...... if as expected we win that case ( for reasons stated) nante will probably end up with legal bill not city.....hopefully all settled out of court.

This is a sad day in many ways, as two men are still dead and nothing can change that

My immediate thoughts are with the families of both Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, the latter of whom has never been found/recovered

The verdict itself is emphatic and has shown David 'Walter Mitty' Henderson to be what he is; a willing participant in actions that he might (likely had previously) got away with but which on this occasion cost lives

I don't know what options are open for the judge but Henderson now has a few days to reflect and worry (if he has an actual conscience after seeing the looks on the faces of him and those alongside leaving Court on TV?) before he learns his fate

Either way, he can absorb that fate, whilst two others cannot in large parts because of his disregarding actions

I agree Chris and my heart goes out to ES family hopefully they feel justice has been served today. I do wonder mind if being found guilty of endangering a plane quite fits the crime. I have no idea what punishment awaits Henderson but as you say two people lost their lives in this crash because of his reckless behaviour. Do you think there is a risk, for Henderson, of further more serious charges like manslaughter. For me that would be justice.

On the flip side this has to be a good verdict for Cardiff City maybe not in the CAS case but to support action against Nantes.

Sky news reporting that the dispute between Nantes and Cardiff city over the 15million has already been decided by UEFA and FIFA that Cardiff must pay up the money. Cardiff have appealed and the matter will be decided early next year abd even if they lose the appeal Cardiff will then seek another case through the French court. This will certainly cost our club

As been pointed out if as expected cas finds against club we are then in position to sue nante for fee and possibly loss earnings...... if as expected we win that case ( for reasons stated) nante will probably end up with legal bill not city.....hopefully all settled out of court.

That's the key here, one of the main reasons for our appeal is to point out that this is not as simple as just saying we're liable and that's the end of it.

We may well be liable for the £15m transer fee but that does not absolve Nantes of being liable, at least in part, for what happened due to their involvement in arranging the transport albeit through a dodgy agent.

I agree, I think this will be settled out of court once the CAS makes a finding because Nantes know that any court action is 50/50 as to whether they win and, given some of the evidence revealed in this case, even that split is looking dodgy.

All that said, I'd still rather have had the chance to see Sala in a blue shirt keeping us in the Premier. Ultimately, a £15m striker might well have given us the extra 3 points we needed to stay up.

This indeed is a sad day. The sheer recklessness cost someone their life.

Insofar as the legal proceedings are concerned, as I stated in another post, for me it is a 2 stage affair:

Outcome (1)

1) CAS find that we do owe FC Nantes £15m

then

2) a) CCFC can sue FC Nantes for £15m for being vicariously liable for the loss of their asset.
b) CCFC can also sue FC Nantes for loss of "Potential revenue" as a result of being relegated - and this could be anything from £50m upwards.

Outcome (2)

1) CAS find that the transfer had not gone through and therefore there is no £15m to pay

2 a) We wouldnt need to sue for £15m as we had not paid it
b) We could not sue for loss of "Potential Revenue" as it had been determined he was not our player


Personally I think Outcome (1) will apply. I think the CAS will determine he was our player and that we owe the transfer - it then follows that we can bring a civil action for items 2(a)(b)

Agree with all of that but there is another big legal issue outstanding and that is the civil proceedings lodged by the Sala family back in March 2020. They named loads of defendants including Henderson, the owner of the plane, the McKays and both Cardiff City and Nantes. The family are waiting on the outcome of the inquest into all this.

The evidence in the case would suggest to me that any civil case against Cardiff City will be unlikely but IF Cardiff lose the CAS case they maybe faced with having to pay the £15m and then getting in line with the civil cases. Who goes first the Sala family or Cardiff City?

It's a mess and could take years.

Echo the sadness of all this but if Sala is found to be a City player won’t he then be covered by the clubs insurance policy or if none then why wouldn’t the club claim on the insurance of the plane owners/operators?
Surely there are insurance companies behind the scenes arguing amongst themselves with City and Nantes as nominal named parties to the litigation?

Last edited by Danny Says on Thu Oct 28, 2021 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Has it stated anywhere in the reports of the case that Nantes specifically requested their agent to organise the flights?

If not I don't think that this case will have any bearing on us paying the transfer fee. Even if they did request the flight we would still probably have to pay them unless it had been shown that they were aware that the pilot was not qualified.

I think that if Nantes were not involved with organising the flight the case is more likely to open up the possibility of suing the agent.

Has it stated anywhere in the reports of the case that Nantes specifically requested their agent to organise the flights?

If not I don't think that this case will have any bearing on us paying the transfer fee. Even if they did request the flight we would still probably have to pay them unless it had been shown that they were aware that the pilot was not qualified.

I think that if Nantes were not involved with organising the flight the case is more likely to open up the possibility of suing the agent.

You might be right, we aren't privy to that information.We also don't know the finer details of the contract if it had already been signed.

I'm not sure we can assume Nantes aren't liable if they requested the flight, they may well have had a duty of care to ensure the safety of their/our player.

It will all get resolved at some point but the more you look into this the more you realise that this tragedy could have been avoided. I just wish he had got on the commercial flight that Cardiff had offered him.

Has it stated anywhere in the reports of the case that Nantes specifically requested their agent to organise the flights?

If not I don't think that this case will have any bearing on us paying the transfer fee. Even if they did request the flight we would still probably have to pay them unless it had been shown that they were aware that the pilot was not qualified.

I think that if Nantes were not involved with organising the flight the case is more likely to open up the possibility of suing the agent.

You might be right, we aren't privy to that information.We also don't know the finer details of the contract if it had already been signed.

I'm not sure we can assume Nantes aren't liable if they requested the flight, they may well have had a duty of care to ensure the safety of their/our player.

It will all get resolved at some point but the more you look into this the more you realise that this tragedy could have been avoided. I just wish he had got on the commercial flight that Cardiff had offered him.

Agent employed by nante makes them liable as been explained previously on here ....
. What is almost certain is it may take quite a while to resolve simply due to amount of money involved.... shame for everyone involved but hope his family get compensated before litigation is started by city if thats what happens as waited long enough for closure on their part.

Echo the sadness of all this but if Sala is found to be a City player won’t he then be covered by the clubs insurance policy or if none then why wouldn’t the club claim on the insurance of the plane owners/operators?
Surely there are insurance companies behind the scenes arguing amongst themselves with City and Nantes as nominal named parties to the litigation?

Talk at the time was that because it had all happened before he’d even trained with us, over a weekend, that we hadn’t yet got round to insuring him as contracts and registrations weren’t finalised.

On one hand it’s something for some to bash the club for, on the other, I think it’s fair that no one in their right mind would think that a £15m footballer would be put on a paper plane over the English Channel at night in bad conditions, let alone with an unqualified pilot.

This is a sad day in many ways, as two men are still dead and nothing can change that

My immediate thoughts are with the families of both Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, the latter of whom has never been found/recovered

The verdict itself is emphatic and has shown David 'Walter Mitty' Henderson to be what he is; a willing participant in actions that he might (likely had previously) got away with but which on this occasion cost lives

I don't know what options are open for the judge but Henderson now has a few days to reflect and worry (if he has an actual conscience after seeing the looks on the faces of him and those alongside leaving Court on TV?) before he learns his fate

Either way, he can absorb that fate, whilst two others cannot in large parts because of his disregarding actions

I agree Chris and my heart goes out to ES family hopefully they feel justice has been served today. I do wonder mind if being found guilty of endangering a plane quite fits the crime. I have no idea what punishment awaits Henderson but as you say two people lost their lives in this crash because of his reckless behaviour. Do you think there is a risk, for Henderson, of further more serious charges like manslaughter. For me that would be justice.

On the flip side this has to be a good verdict for Cardiff City maybe not in the CAS case but to support action against Nantes.

Judge Mr Justice Foxton granted Henderson bail to return to be sentenced for both offences on November 12.

He faces maximum sentences of five years imprisonment for endangering the aircraft and two years for the lesser charge.

There is another scenario that could have massive implications in all this.
Sala employed McKay as his agent (representative in the negotiations) not Cardiff or Nantes.

Therefore Sala is the responsible party, not Cardiff or Nantes.
Sala (through his agent) arranged the flight, refusing Cardiff's offer of a commercial flight, as it was inconvenient to him.

It will potentially come down to who employed McKay, and very little chance of getting compensation off him, a struck off football agent acting illegally and a bankrupt.

If so Cardiff have to pay the £15m unless it's proven he was not contractually signed.

This is a sad day in many ways, as two men are still dead and nothing can change that

My immediate thoughts are with the families of both Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, the latter of whom has never been found/recovered

The verdict itself is emphatic and has shown David 'Walter Mitty' Henderson to be what he is; a willing participant in actions that he might (likely had previously) got away with but which on this occasion cost lives

I don't know what options are open for the judge but Henderson now has a few days to reflect and worry (if he has an actual conscience after seeing the looks on the faces of him and those alongside leaving Court on TV?) before he learns his fate

Either way, he can absorb that fate, whilst two others cannot in large parts because of his disregarding actions

I agree Chris and my heart goes out to ES family hopefully they feel justice has been served today. I do wonder mind if being found guilty of endangering a plane quite fits the crime. I have no idea what punishment awaits Henderson but as you say two people lost their lives in this crash because of his reckless behaviour. Do you think there is a risk, for Henderson, of further more serious charges like manslaughter. For me that would be justice.

On the flip side this has to be a good verdict for Cardiff City maybe not in the CAS case but to support action against Nantes.

Gary, the two deaths are and have to be of paramount importance...

Like you, I don't claim to be a legal expert (which is why I appreciate the informed opinion of others like Paul Keevil) but I do read rather than scan what is written before making comment

I note the Sala family (through their representatives) have said they are relieved at the verdict but they also have some way to go before their own nightmare and hurt (if it ever can) subside

It remains to be seen what 'penalities' can be meted out but it is seemingly extensive and could include a custodial sentence

Of course, the guesstimators on here will have answers before even the judge has even had time to consider the pre-sentence reports!

The 'further charges' question is an interesting one. I can see civil charges being laid but not as sure on criminal ones?

That will all come out in the wash, as will the position of Willie McKay and his brood

Hopefully, all those parties will have to answer for their deliberate actions in the flight occurring at all

Sadly, at point of that happening, some of Neil Warnock's alledged actions might be questioned?

I believe (to be confirmed) FC of Nantes can only be taken on in the Civil Courts?

Also agree, CAS decision regardless, this has to be good news for Cardiff City FC, as it would appear to gives the club 'other options' in recouping their would be losses

Acting exclusively on behalf of FC of Nantes, these people have vicariously or otherwise attached themselves to this 'guilty' verdict

One thing I would say, is that this verdict may well force FC of Nantes to the negotiating table they were originally invited?

In that case, both clubs have a final opportunity to 'do the decent thing', to 'save face' and give the Sala family 'closure'

When all is said and done, it is now accepted that Ibbotson was acting on behalf of Henderson, who was acting on behalf of McKay, who was acting on behalf of both Emiliano Sala and FC of Nantes, who were selling their asset (ES) for financial gain

An interesting and telling period ahead, starting with Henderson's sentence/punishment and potential for further criminal and civil charges

'

When all is said and done, it is now accepted that Ibbotson was acting on behalf of Henderson, who was acting on behalf McKay, who was acting on behalf of FC of Nantes, who were selling their asset (ES) for financial gain

When you look at it in those stark terms it would seem the only people NOT involved was us !!

As everyone has said, nothing final here but certainly opens up some interesting routes in terms of liability.

This is a sad day in many ways, as two men are still dead and nothing can change that

My immediate thoughts are with the families of both Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, the latter of whom has never been found/recovered

The verdict itself is emphatic and has shown David 'Walter Mitty' Henderson to be what he is; a willing participant in actions that he might (likely had previously) got away with but which on this occasion cost lives

I don't know what options are open for the judge but Henderson now has a few days to reflect and worry (if he has an actual conscience after seeing the looks on the faces of him and those alongside leaving Court on TV?) before he learns his fate

Either way, he can absorb that fate, whilst two others cannot in large parts because of his disregarding actions

I agree Chris and my heart goes out to ES family hopefully they feel justice has been served today. I do wonder mind if being found guilty of endangering a plane quite fits the crime. I have no idea what punishment awaits Henderson but as you say two people lost their lives in this crash because of his reckless behaviour. Do you think there is a risk, for Henderson, of further more serious charges like manslaughter. For me that would be justice.

On the flip side this has to be a good verdict for Cardiff City maybe not in the CAS case but to support action against Nantes.

Judge Mr Justice Foxton granted Henderson bail to return to be sentenced for both offences on November 12.

He faces maximum sentences of five years imprisonment for endangering the aircraft and two years for the lesser charge.

Thanks for that. Doesn't seem a lot for me but it will be interesting to see what the conclusion of the inquest will be. If they conclude negligence then I think Henderson may well face more serious charges with much longer custodial sentences.

We will have to wait until March / April for the inquest to conclude.

Didn't I read that the Premier League had not sanctioned the contract? But FAW had? So sorry for this young man and his family but 100% support the club in their actions of not just handing over £15m.

Hope they throw away the key on Henderson as he still shows no remorse over his actions.

'

When all is said and done, it is now accepted that Ibbotson was acting on behalf of Henderson, who was acting on behalf McKay, who was acting on behalf of FC of Nantes, who were selling their asset (ES) for financial gain

When you look at it in those stark terms it would seem the only people NOT involved was us !!

As everyone has said, nothing final here but certainly opens up some interesting routes in terms of liability.

Tim, if this verdict has confirmed anything at all, it is that Cardiff City FC were effective bystanders in the whole sorry eposode

Do they have questions over their own handling of the situation?

Personally, I believe they do but to exactly what extent is for others more informed than me