The pilot of the plane that crashed with the footballer Emiliano Sala on board probably had some control of the aircraft when it came down in the English Channel, an expert said yesterday.

The position on the seabed of the Piper PA-46 Malibu indicated that it was “not a high-speed dive” into the water, suggesting some form of controlled descent. It is believed that the aircraft may have been downed by a build-up of ice on the wings, causing it to lose lift shortly after it passed the Channel Islands.

The comments were made after police confirmed late on Thursday that a body retrieved from the wreckage was that of the footballer. An inquest is to be held in Bournemouth.</s>The video will start in 8 Cancel

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Investigators have confirmed that the body of Emiliano Sala has been recovered from the wreckage of his plane that went missing last month.

A body was pulled from the aircraft, which was found on the bottom of the ocean north of Guernsey, earlier this week.

The plane, which was carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson, disappeared off the radar around 8:30pm on January 21, as the Cardiff City striker was travelling from Nantes to the Welsh capital.

The investigation to find the plane was initially called off after three days, but Sala's family raised the funds to keep the search alive, with thanks to donations from the international football community.

Sala’s sister paid an emotional tribute to her tragic brother in the early hours of Friday morning.

Heartbroken Romina uploaded a photo of the star to Instagram after the news was confirmed.

“Your soul in my soul it will shine forever thus illuminating the time of my existence. I love you, tito,” she wrote.

Cardiff said in a statement: "We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano.

"He and David will forever remain in our thoughts."

Other tributes were paid by Arsenal player Mesut Ozil, Manchester City's Benjamin Mendy and Paris Saint-Germain footballer Kylian Mbappe.

A private search team announced that they had found the wreckage of the plane at the bottom of the English channel on February 4.

(Image: emilianosala9/Instagram)

One body was inside the aircraft, which has now been successfully recovered and confirmed as being that of Sala.

Dorset Police confirmed: "The body brought to Portland Port today has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala.

"The families of Mr Sala and pilot David Ibbotson have been updated. Our thoughts remain with them all."

(Image: Maxppp/PA Images)

(Image: Getty)

Investigators used remotely operated vehicles to help pull the body out of the water "in as dignified a way as possible" despite "challenging conditions" in the recovery, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

The whereabouts of Mr Ibbotson remain unclear at this time.

The Piper Malibu plane, registration N264DB, was found 67 metres underwater 21 miles off the coast of Guernsey and weather conditions meant that investigations were delayed.

Sala, 28, had just completed a club-record £15million transfer to Cardiff and had not made an appearance for the club.

(Image: AAIB / SWNS)

(Image: AAIB / SWNS)

He had travelled back to Nantes, his former club, to say his goodbyes to his former teammates.

Disaster struck on the journey back to Wales.

It has been confirmed that the plane requested to descend before it lost contact with the air control staff.

The remains of the aircraft were discovered by David Mearns, known as the "Shipwreck Hunter", who discovered the aircraft within two hours of starting his search on a target area.

He told the Press Association the discovery had been so quick because the team had been looking for a static object rather than in a dynamic environment searching for survivors.

(Image: Getty Images)

"No-one should walk away with the impression that the Coastguard and also the Channel Islands air search did anything other than a professional job," he said.

The AAIB said it expected to publish an interim report within the month.

But those looking into the plane's crash face a battle to determine the whole story.

Even if the investigators are able to retrieve the wreckage and examine it up-close, the light aircraft is unlikely to have been fitted with a flight recorder, according to the UK's aviation regulator, which would have been a vital source of information.

(Image: Getty Images)

Known as black boxes, they record flight data and cockpit audio, and are mandatory in airline planes and private jets - but not for the Piper Malibu plane.

Sala had turned down a mega-money transfer to the Chinese Super League in favour of putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract in Cardiff.

Tributes were paid in Cardiff and in Nantes for the striker, as the search for him continued.

However, things have threatened to get nasty after Nantes threatened legal action to ensure the £15million transfer fee was paid.</s>Emiliano Sala’s plane went missing on January 21 on a flight from Nantes LOIC VENANCE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A body recovered from the wreck of an aircraft on the bed of the Channel was identified last night as that of the Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala.

Dorset police said that a coroner had confirmed that remains brought to the surface on Wednesday night and taken to Portland were those of the 28-year-old striker, who vanished during a flight to Cardiff from Nantes, western France, on January 21. His family has been informed.

Liaison officers were also supporting the family of David Ibbotson, 59, the pilot of the Piper Malibu and the only other person on board, the force said.

Sala had signed for Cardiff City for a club record £15 million four days before he went missing.

The official search for the aircraft was…</s>A body recovered from underwater wreckage of the plane carrying Emiliano Sala has been formally identified as the footballer, police said.

Sala (28) was identified by the Dorset coroner on Thursday after his body was pulled from the plane, which had been flown by pilot David Ibbotson, the previous day.

The families of both men have been informed, police said.

The force said in a statement: “The body brought to Portland Port today, Thursday, February 7th, 2019, has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala.

“The families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers.

“Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.

“HM Coroner will continue to investigate the circumstances of this death supported by Dorset Police.”

Cardiff City Football Club said in a statement: “We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano.

“He and David will forever remain in our thoughts.”

The Piper Malibu N264DB plane lost contact with air traffic control over the Channel, north of Guernsey, on January 21st.

An initial search and rescue operation failed to locate the plane but it was later discovered by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) and privately funded search teams.

The aircraft remains 67 metres underwater around 33km off the coast of Guernsey in the English Channel as poor weather conditions stopped efforts to recover it.

The AAIB has said it expects to publish an interim report within the month.

Cardiff had signed Sala for a club record €17 million and he was due to start training last month.

Nantes has demanded payment from Cardiff for the player’s transfer. – PA</s>A body recovered from a plane which crashed in the English Channel has been formally identified as professional footballer Emiliano Sala, Dorset Police said.

The remains of the plane were discovered on Sunday evening. It had disappeared on January 21 as it travelled from Nantes in France to Cardiff.

The AAIB said previously that the work of the ROVs has been hampered by the difficult tidal conditions around the Channel Islands.

Dorset Police said the families of Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been informed.

In a statement on Thursday night police said they "will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers.

"Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.

"HM Coroner will continue to investigate the circumstances of this death supported by Dorset Police."

Cardiff had signed Sala for a club record £15 million and he was due to start training last month.

It has emerged that Nantes has demanded payment from Cardiff for the player's transfer.

It is understood Cardiff received a letter from Nantes on Tuesday, in which the French Ligue 1 club threatened to take legal action if the first scheduled payment of the fee is not made within 10 days.

It is believed Cardiff have been left surprised by the demand, considering the circumstances and the timing, and would rather the investigation into the tragedy is completed first.</s>The body found on the plane has been confirmed as Emiliano Sala

The Piper Malibu aircraft was carrying Sala and his pilot David Ibbotson when it went missing from radar on January 21 off the Channel Islands.

A search and rescue effort to find the plane was initially unsuccessful but a privately-funded effort to discover the wreckage led to its discovery on Sunday.

The body was found late last night after a successful discovery made by the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB).</s>The body recovered from a plane that crashed in the Channel has been formally identified as the professional footballer Emiliano Sala, police have said.

The aircraft, which was also carrying the pilot David Ibbotson, crashed in the Channel on 21 January, en route to Cardiff. Dorset police said the families of both men had been notified.</s>The body recovered from a plane that crashed in the Channel has been formally identified as the professional footballer Emiliano Sala, police in the UK have said.

The remains were formally identified after they were brought to Portland, Dorset in England on Thursday.

Sala (28) had been en route from Nantes in western France on January 21st to make his debut for Premier League team Cardiff City when the small aircraft he was travelling in disappeared over the English Channel.

The wreckage of the plane was found on Sunday.

Dorset police said the families of both men had been notified. – Agencies</s>Emiliano Sala's plane has been found and he is presumed dead. Divers discovered the wreckage at the bottom of the English Channel. Cardiff City paid tribute to their player over the weekend.

A body seen in the wreckage of the plane carrying Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala has been successfully recovered.

The small plane carrying Cardiff City striker Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson, 59, was found off the coast of Alderney in the English Channel on Sunday.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch said robot subs were used in “challenging conditions” to pull the body out of the water “in as dignified a way as possible”, The Sun reports.

It has not yet been revealed whether the body was the Argentinian footballer or British pilot.

More to come</s>A body is reported to have been recovered in the search for missing Cardiff City player Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson, after the wreckage of the plane containing the two was found in the English Channel on Sunday.

Sala had just become Cardiff's record signing when his flight from Nantes to the UK went missing on 21 January and after official search efforts were called off around a week later, a private crowd-funded operation was able to locate the missing aircraft.

In a further update to the story, the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB) have confirmed on Thursday that a body has been recovered from the site of the crash.

"In challenging conditions, the AAIB and its specialist contractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amidst the wreckage," said an AAIB spokesperson, via the Daily Record.

"The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible and the families were kept informed of progress.

"Unfortunately, attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful before poor weather conditions forced us to return the remotely-operated vehicle to the ship.

"The weather forecast is poor for the foreseeable future and so the difficult decision was taken to bring the overall operation to a close."

The body will be examined by a coroner in Dorset, although no timeline has been placed on an identification process.
The lone body found in the Piper PA-46 Malibu that disappeared two weeks ago is confirmed to be that of missing footballer Emiliano Sala. The pilot remains missing, presumed dead.