Body found in the wreck of Emiliano Sala’s aircraft

An unidentified body has been spotted in the wreck of an aircraft that vanished with footballer Emiliano Sala on board.

Part of the fuselage of the Piper PA-46 Malibu found 40km north of Guernsey. Picture: AFP

An unidentified body has been spotted in the wreck of an aircraft that vanished with Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala on board.

The Piper PA-46 Malibu, which was being flown by David Ibbotson, 59, when it disappeared on January 21, was found on the seabed about 40km north of Guernsey at a depth of 62m.

David Mearns, the ocean­ographer who located the aircraft, said it was “imperative” to recover the wreckage and provide answers to the families of Ibbotson, from Lincolnshire, and Sala, 28, an Argentine forward who had been signed to Cardiff City.

Mr Mearns said he was in contact with Sala’s family.

“There’s a much greater chance they will get answers if (the wreck) is recovered,” he told BBC radio yesterday.

Sala’s father, Horacio, told Cronica TV at his home in Progreso, Argentina: “I cannot believe it. This is a dream. A bad dream. I am desperate.”

The single-engine aircraft went missing en route from Nantes in western France to Cardiff, where Sala was due to join his new club after a £15 million transfer. An official search operation was called off on January 24 but more than £250,000 was raised to fund a private search.

On January 28, two seat cushions that the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch said probably came from the aircraft were found on a beach in Surtainville, Normandy.

On Sunday, a ship located the aircraft and a remote submersible sent back an image of the rear left-hand side of the fuselage showing the registration number N264DB.

The AAIB said: “Tragically, in video footage from the remotely operated vehicle, one occupant is visible amid the wreckage. The AAIB is now considering the next steps, in consultation with the families of the pilot and passenger, and the police.”

Mr Mearns said: “We were expecting to find a debris field. It is broken but most of it is there. The AAIB will be able to rule things out or in, that’s the normal investigative process for any crash, so it’s imperative the plane is recovered, even more so now we know someone is down there.”

The AAIB said: “The AAIB commissioned specialist vessel Geo Ocean III and Blue Water Recoveries Ltd commissioned FPV Morven and the search area was divided between the vessels. Both vessels began their search on the morning of Sunday, February 3. Early in the search, the Morven identified an object of interest on the seabed using its side-scan sonar.”

Ross Taylor of A-2-Sea Solutions, which provided the Morven and worked as Mr Mearns directed, said it may be possible to recover the body without raising the wreck. “ROVs are sometimes able to grab on to items but whether that would happen I don’t know,” he said. “Divers can also get down to that depth but it’s a much bigger operation.”

The Times