Club Statement | 13/03/20

We welcome the publication of the AAIB report, an important step in understanding the full facts surrounding this tragedy. It is a detailed and technical piece of work which, whilst apportioning no blame or liability, raises a number of new questions which we hope will be addressed during the inquest recommencing next week.

The report focuses on flight conditions, the plane and the pilot, and concludes that a plane that was permitted to be used for private use only, was being used commercially, thus operating outside the safety standards applicable for commercial operations. A number of mechanical and technical faults in the plane were also found, the most serious being that carbon monoxide had entered the cabin affecting both the passenger and pilot.
 
Furthermore, the pilot was not qualified to fly the aircraft at the time of the accident, nor did his licence permit him to receive remuneration for flying, yet he was to be paid. The report also highlights a number of challenges the regulating bodies face in stopping illegal grey charter flights, the widespread use of which in the football industry and more widely is placing countless lives at risk.
 
We are encouraged to read that the CAA is determined to tackle illegal activities by pursuing those involved, it is a practise which must be stopped and we hope the industry will be supported in order to prevent this tragedy ever happening again.