Sala inquest: Agent had no knowledge of issues with plane or pilot

A football agent who organised the flight in which football player Emiliano Sala was killed had no knowledge of any issues with the plane or the pilot, an inquest has heard.

The Argentina-born striker died alongside pilot David Ibbotson, 59, when the Piper Malibu aircraft crashed into the English Channel close to Alderney on January 21 2019.

The 28-year-old had been flying to Wales from France to join Premier League club Cardiff City in a £15 million transfer from Ligue 1 side Nantes.

At an inquest at Bournemouth Coroner's Court, Willie McKay said he had personally arranged the private flights from Cardiff to Nantes and back again.

He said after a medical examination in Cardiff, Mr Sala had been keen to return to Nantes to say goodbye to his teammates and collect his belongings.

Mr McKay's son Mark, also a football agent, acted on behalf of Nantes during the deal.

Giving evidence, Mr McKay said he felt the Argentinian had been "abandoned" by Cardiff City after the signing.

He said Mr Sala had only received a WhatsApp message from a representative of Cardiff City offering to organise a commercial flight from the Welsh capital to Paris.

"It wasn't really any use to Emi because he lived in Nantes and it is more than five hours away (from Paris)," Mr McKay said. "I only tried to help him to get over to Nantes to say his goodbyes to his teammates, I felt as if Cardiff City failed him."

Mr McKay said he had called a number of companies, including pilot David Henderson who had regularly flown him across Europe to matches.

"He said he couldn't do it himself but he would try to get someone else to do it," he said. "I was doing my very, very best to try and get Emi home."

Mr McKay was read evidence from Mr Henderson claiming he