The pilot of an aircraft that disappeared with a Premier League footballer on board was not licensed to carry paying passengers, The Times understands.

The qualifications of David Ibbotson form part of the investigation into the light aircraft’s disappearance over the Channel. Mr Ibbotson, 59, a full-time gas engineer, flew the striker Emiliano Sala from Cardiff to Nantes, western France, on Saturday.

Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, Lincolnshire, told a friend that he was “a bit rusty” with the controls of the aircraft, which vanished from radar during the return flight on Monday. Sala had just been signed by Cardiff City. The Federal Aviation Administration register shows Mr Ibbotson as having only a private pilot’s certificate based on his British private pilot’s licence. The record was