Emiliano Sala’s plane’s ex-pilot says aircraft did NOT ‘fall to pieces’ and rubbishes claims mechanical failure caused deadly crash

THE ex-pilot of Emiliano Sala's plane has claimed the aircraft did not "fall to pieces" and rubbishes claims that a mechanical failure caused the deadly crash.

Eduardo Hernandez Vidaurreta, 65, used to fly the same Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft which crashed while Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala was on board on January 21.

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The experienced pilot flew it between 2012 and 2015 and described it being “marvellous” and said it would “surprise” him him if there was a problem with the plane.

He told Spanish paper : “This plane was marvellous to fly. It would surprise me if the accident was due to a mechanical failure.”

Eduardo has been a commercial pilot since 1976 and said the plane originally belonged to an aviation school in Florida.

NO PROBLEMS

It was bought by his friend, businessman Roberto Sastre, who paid 500,000 euros in 2012 before bringing it back to Spain.

According to the paper, Eduardo spent 200 hours flying it over a four-year period after Sastre asked him to be his chauffeur.

He added: “It didn’t give me any problems. If someone is looking for a mechanical reason to explain the airplane’s crash, I think they are wrong.

This plane was marvellous to fly. It would surprise me if the accident was due to a mechanical failure.

Former pilot Eduardo Hernandez Vidaurreta

Eduardo is also convinced the plane was given a new engine when it arrived in Spain and added: “The plane didn’t fall to pieces, I’m sure it didn’t.”

His account contrasts Sala’s who sent WhatsApp messages to his friends to express his concern with the plane.

He said: “Boys, I'm here on top of the plane that looks like it's about to fall apart.

“And I'm going to Cardiff, crazy, tomorrow we already started. In the afternoon we started to train, boys, in my new team.

GETTING SCARED

“If you do not have any more news from in an hour and a half, I don’t know if they need to send someone to find me... I am getting scared!”

Eduardo said the aircraft had life jackets and emergency oxygen tanks on board when it was sold to a British company in 2015 and was in “good condition”.

On January 23, aviation experts exclusively told The Sun how a build up of ice on the wings of the aircraft carrying Emiliano Sala could have been the cause of the crash.

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It has also been reported that pilot David Ibbotson, 60, admitted he was “a bit rusty” at the controls before the aircraft vanished.

He told pals his fears after arriving in France two days before his aircraft went missing - and even joked about the state of his landing.

The married dad-of-four from Scunthorpe, Lincs, told a pal: “Was not too bad when I got there, but I’m a bit rusty with the ILS (instrument landing system).”

The plane climbed to 5,000ft but David later asked Jersey air traffic control for permission to drop to 2,300ft. It then vanished at 8.30pm near Alderney.

Sala, an Argentine striker who had just left Nantes to join Cardiff for a record £15million fee, was confirmed dead after his body was pulled from wreckage.

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