Private investigators have found the wreckage of the aircraft which was carrying Cardiff city footballer Emiliano Sala.

A search boat discovered the plane on the seabed of the English Channel this morning.

Both Sala, 28, and his pilot David Ibbotson, 60, are still missing and are presumed dead.

Plane wreckage has been found in the search for missing footballer Emiliano Sala (Picture: Instagram)

Rescue teams were focusing on a four square mile area where the wreckage was found

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The families of both men have been informed of the discovery.


David Mearns, a marine scientist who was leading the search, confirmed the wreckage of the small aircraft was found at around 9am.

Couple who met on their balconies during lockdown planning to get married

A privately funded rescue vessel, the FPV Morven, picked up something on the sonar 24 miles off Guernsey and made further passes over the area to pinpoint the location.



It is understood the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) ship, the Geo Ocean III, which was assisting, then sent down a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to visually identify the plane.

The Morven has since returned to Guernsey harbour while the AAIB ship remains at the scene to assist with recovery.

Mr Mearns called the news ‘devastating’ and said: ‘Our job is done. This is an active investigation now in the hands of the AAIB, and they will be taking over as agreed.

Sala and pilot David Ibbotson are presumed dead (Picture: Facebook)

‘We’ve had a long trip back and all I could think about was the families. This is what they wanted us to do, we’ve achieved it and that’s the best we could have hoped for – the best outcome.

‘An incredibly tragic and sad, and a devastating moment, but at least some of their questions will be answered because of what we will be able to do today.’

Arctic ice in 'meltdown' after heatwave and forest fires

The search effort was focused on a four square mile area, which Mr Mearns said the AAIB had a ‘high confidence level’ would be the resting place of the aircraft.

The plane disappeared over Alderney as the pair travelled from Nantes to Cardiff on January 21.

A private search party was launched after the official one was called off by authorities on January 24 after Guernsey’s harbour master Captain David Barker said the chances of survival following such a long period were ‘extremely remote’.

The public raised more than £325,000 to continue the rescue effort, and the funds were used to conduct the private search.

The Piper PA-46 Malibu with the two men on board disappeared on January 21 (Picture: Wales News)

The specialist FPV Morven Survey located the plane around 24 miles off the coast of Guernsey (Picture: Guernsey Press /SWNS)

Two seat cushions, which are likely to have come from the plane, were found earlier this week.

The AAIB was advised by its French counterparts on Monday that part of a cushion was found on a beach near Surtainville on the Cotentin Peninsula.

A second cushion was found in the same area later that day.

Sala’s devastated family travelled to Guernsey in the wake of his disappearance in order to be closer to the search effort.

Sala was on his way back to Wales after saying goodbye to his Nantes team-mates on the night he went missing after signing a reported £15 million to join the Bluebirds.

Sala was travelling to Wales after signing a £15 million deal to join Cardiff City FC (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Sala had said good bye to his Nantes team-mates and was travelling to Cardiff on the night he went missing (Picture: Emiliano Sala/Instagram)

According to Guernsey Police, the single turbine engine aircraft departed Nantes at 7.15pm for the Welsh capital and was flying at an altitude of 5,000ft.



On passing Guernsey it ‘requested descent’, but Jersey air traffic control lost contact with the plane while it was flying at 2,300ft.

Sala had sent a WhatsApp voice message saying he was scared shortly before the plane vanished.

He could be heard telling friends they might have to ‘send someone to find me’ with the noise of the engine in the background.

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.