The missing pilot of the plane which crashed and killed Emiliano Sala was reportedly colour-blind and not qualified to fly at night.

David Ibbotson, 51, was flying the Piper Malibu light aircraft carrying the 28-year-old Cardiff City signing when it smashed down into the English Channel off the coast of Guernsey on the night of January 21.

Over two months since the fatal flight, it has now been revealed that the Lincolnshire pilot who taking the £15million striker held a licence which only allowed him to fly during the day.

David Ibbotson, 51, (pictured with wife Nora) was flying the Piper Malibu light aircraft carrying the 28-year-old Cardiff City signing but it has now been claimed he was not allowed to fly at night

Emilano Sala was killed when it smashed down into the English Channel off the coast of Guernsey on the night of January 21

Aviation authorities have confirmed that Mr Ibbotson - thought to be colour-blind - did not have a 'night rating' on his UK private pilot permit, according to the BBC.

The source said: 'Flying outside the restrictions of your licence is illegal and that's likely to affect the insurance cover for the flight.'

This would mean that Mr Ibbotson may have breached the terms of his licence as European regulations define nighttime as 'the time from half an hour after sunset until half an hour before sunrise'.

And the plane took off from Nantes at approximately 7pm after the flight was postponed.

Mr Ibbotson's UK licence was also endorsed in the US which allowed him to fly the American registered Piper Malibu.

The Piper Malibu aircraft was flown by Mr Ibbotson on January 21 with the Cardiff City record signing as his passenger travelling from Nantes

But the public Federal Aviation Administration logs show that he 'must have available glasses for near vision' and that 'all limitations and restrictions on the United Kingdom pilot licence apply'.

The Piper Malibu was 'destroyed' by the impact of the crash and split into three parts with the engine thrown from the cockpit, the wings smashed and the tail and fin missing completely, a robot sent to the seabed found.

A report from Air Accidents Investigation Branch last month said that n the last 15 minutes of the doomed flight the pilot David Ibbotson descended sharply four times telling air traffic control he was struggling with visibility.

Exactly 24 seconds before the fatal crash he plunged 2,400ft from 4,000ft to 1,600ft at a rate of 7,000ft per minute - equivalent to around 90mph - and then Mr Ibbotson desperately tried and failed to 'climb rapidly' before hitting the water.

The pilot remains missing despite a crowdfunded private search operation led by the team which recovered Sala's body.

Sala's body was recovered from the wreckage of the plane more than 20 miles off the coast of Guernsey

The plane was found off the coast of Guernsey where it had crashed