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Air authorities are aiming to clamp down on unlicensed 'air taxi' services following the death of footballer Emiliano Sala in a plane crash off the coast of Alderney.
The risks of unlicensed or 'grey charters' were mentioned a number of times in an in-depth report looking into the crash that killed the sportsman released on Friday.
Emiliano Sala's flight was a 'grey charter', although he was not paying pilot David Ibbotson personally. It has since been revealed that Mr Ibbotson was neither licensed to commercially fly passengers, nor to fly at night, which was when the Piper Malibu was travelling when it went down.
Since the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published their report on the tragic accident, the Civil Aviation Authority has since launched a campaign entitled 'Legal to Fly' as part of measures to clamp down on the practice and prevent a similar crash occurring.
The report said: "Unlicensed charter flight operations, which can also be known as ‘grey charters’ are unregulated and may be uninsured. Evidence collected by The Air Charter Association indicated that such flights may have become more widespread within the UK and Europe.
"They are often associated with sporting events where there may be many small aircraft transporting passengers. Due to the unlicensed nature of such flights, it is difficult to gauge the level of activity accurately. Enforcement is challenging because it requires a large commitment of resources."
Pictured: One of the safety actions taken following the crash was the launch of a campaign raising awareness about grey charters.
It continued: "The first part of the approach is to educate the travelling public who may unwittingly use one of these flights without realising that it is unlicensed and illegal. They unknowingly increase the level of risk they are taking and may be uninsured.
"The second part of the CAA approach is to educate those who are unwittingly breaking the law because they do not understand or are unaware of the regulations surrounding air charters. The CAA can support the development of companies, individuals or owners who seek to become compliant with the regulations. The final part of the CAA approach is to reduce the illegal activity by catching and / or prosecuting those involved."
A mix of grey charters and licensed charters operate out of the Channel Islands, and are suited to the smaller populations of the islands. But the charters are also closely linked the sporting world, the report said.
Pictured: Sala was being flown from Nantes to Cardiff by Ibbotson, and crashed north of Guernsey.
Geraint Herbert, the AAIB Investigator in charge of looking into the crash, said one of the focuses of the report released on Friday was to work out what could be done to prevent similar crashes happening again.
"The flight took place at night, although the pilot had no night rating on his licence," he said, "the pilot nor aircraft were licensed to be carrying a fee-paying passenger, and so the flight was not conducted in accordance with safety standards applicable to commercial operations.
"Following this accident, the Civil Aviation Authority launched a campaign called 'Legal to Fly' to raise awareness of the risks posed by unlicensed charters."
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