EMILIANO Sala's missing plane pilot had "some control" of the doomed aircraft before it crashed into the sea, an aviation expert has claimed. David Ibbotson was flying the £15million Cardiff City striker from Nantes to the Welsh capital when the single propeller jet came down near Alderney on January 21. 4 David Ibbotson, right, tagged himself landing at Nantes Airport on Saturday 4 Cardiff striker Emiliano Sala was confirmed dead after a body was recovered from the doomed aircraft Credit: Refer to Caption An official search was called off within just four days but an initial fundraising page gained more than £260,000 to pay for a private search. That investigation led to the discovery of the footballer’s body in the wreckage on February 4. 'SOME CONTROL' Mr Ibbotson’s body has not yet been discovered. It's thought the plane came down in bad weather, but former RAF instructor David Learmount, now consulting editor at aviation news website Flight Global, suggested Mr Ibbotson, 60, had some control over the plane when it came down. Nobody dives an aircraft into the sea knowing they are diving the aircraft into the sea. You pull the nose up David Learmoun He told The Times the wreckage was not spread out over a wide area, which he claims is the norm after a high-speed uncontrolled dive. He claimed: "Nobody dives an aircraft into the sea knowing they are diving the aircraft into the sea. You pull the nose up. "It didn't enter the sea at high speed with its nose down." The expert's theory came after Sala’s family last night urged authorities to continue looking for the pilot’s body. It didn't enter the sea at high speed with its nose down David Learmount They said in a statement: "It is with infinite sadness that we confirm the identity of Emiliano's body. "We would like to thank you for all your signs of affection and support in what is the most painful time of our lives. "Seeing the whole world mobilised to support us in our research has been an infinitely precious help. Thanks to you, we are now able to mourn our son, our brother. "On this Friday morning, our thoughts go to David Ibbotson and his family, hoping that the authorities will do their best to find him." A GoFundMe page, set up by Ibbotson’s daughter Danielle, hopes to raise enough money to launch another private search. 'PLEASE BRING HIM HOME' The page says: "Please help bring David Ibbotson home and help give him the send off he deserves. "As a family we are relying on the kindness of the good-hearted people to help us raise the much needed funds to help us find our beloved Dad, Husband and Son. "As a family we are trying to come to terms with the tragedy and the loss of two incredible men. "To be told the search has now been called off for the foreseeable future has only made this tragic time more difficult. "We can not bare the thought of him being alone, we need him home so that we are able to lay him to rest. "Any donations would be very much appreciated. most read in news Exclusive THIEF 'COP' Shamed ex-cop stole thousands of pounds from 2 hotels to blow on coke & hookers 'HELP ME!' Mum's screams as baby 'slipped under duvet and died while sleeping with parents' Exclusive IT’S HIGH TREESON Dad who spent 3 months building huge kids' treehouse told to demolish it NUCLEAR DOM Cummings brands PM 'unfit for the job' & says tens of 1000s died needlessly 'UNBEARABLE PAIN' Family's anguish as boy, 16, knifed to death ‘protecting his girlfriend’ HOUSE ABOUT IT You won't believe what this ordinary London home looks like on the inside "Thank you so much for your support Ibbotson Family." The page had raised over £12,000 by Friday evening. Donations can be made here. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day's key headlines and transfer news Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice The family of missing pilot David Ibbotson are in talks with David Mearns, the man who located the wreckage of the plane carrying him and footballer Emiliano Sala, as they continue their plea to “bring him home”. Mearns located the plane wreckage at the bottom of the English channel more than a week ago after a private search funded by online donations. Sala’s body has since been recovered from the wreck but Mr Ibbotson’s body has not been found. The pilot's family launched a fundraising page asking for donations to restart the search for him last week, and have revealed they are in discussions with marine scientist Mearns to assess their options. The fundraising campaign, which has a target of £300,000, has raised more than £235,000 and Mr Ibbotson's daughter Danielle issued an update on the GoFundMe page . She said: “We have been in talks the past couple of days with David Mearns over emails and a phone call. We are looking into the best way forward and options we have going forward. “Once we have 100% confirmed the plan forward we will full update everyone. Thank you so much for your support. We can not thank you enough. The Ibbotson Family x.” Mr Ibbotson and £15million Cardiff City striker Sala disappeared on January 21 after their Piper Malibu N264DB single propeller aeroplane went missing over the English Channel en route from Nantes to Cardiff. (Image: emilianosala9/Instagram) Sala, 28, had returned to France to say farewell to his former Nantes teammates. An official search operation was called off within four days but a private search - after a fundraising page generated more than £260,000 to pay for a private search team - led to a body being discovered amid the wreckage on February 4. Sala’s body was formally identified, but Mr Ibbotson is still yet to be discovered - and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch last week brought the overall operation "to a close”. However, the 59-year-old’s family are desperate to lay him to rest, and say they "cannot bear the thought of him being alone”.<doc-sep>
The daughter of missing pilot David Ibbotson has set up a crowd-funding page in a bid to restart the search for her missing father. The campaign raised over £12,000 in its first five hours after being set up, with the target being £300,000. Mr Ibbotson and £15million Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala disappeared on January 21 after leaving Nantes for Cardiff in a Piper Malibu N264DB single propeller aeroplane. An official search operation was called off within four days but a private search - after a fundraising page generated more than £260,000 to pay for a private search team - led to a body being discovered amid the wreckage on February 4. On Thursday evening that body was confirmed to be the 28-year-old Argentine, with Mr Ibbotson's body still yet to be discovered. However, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) also confirmed that the search had been brought to an end, the operation to raise the wreckage aborted due to bad weather. On Friday morning, Sala's family released a statement urging authorities to try to find the missing pilot. (Image: AFP/Getty Images) Their statement read: "It is with infinite sadness that we confirm the identity of Emiliano's body. "We would like to thank you for all your signs of affection and support in what is the most painful time of our lives. "Seeing the whole world mobilised to support us in our research has been an infinitely precious help. Thanks to you, we are now able to mourn our son, our brother. "On this Friday morning, our thoughts go to David Ibbotson and his family, hoping that the authorities will do their best to find him." (Image: AAIB / SWNS) On Friday evening the campaign set up by the Ibbotson family - led by daughter Danielle - began in a bid to raise funds for another private search. The GoFundMe page states: "Please help bring David Ibbotson home and help give him the send off he deserves. "As a family we are relying on the kindness of the good hearted people to help us raise the much needed funds to help us find our beloved Dad, Husband and Son. (Image: Facebook) "As a family we are trying to come to terms with the tragedy and the loss of two incredible men. "To be told the search has now been called off for the foreseeable future has only made this tragic time more difficult. "We can not bare the thought of him being alone, we need him home so that we are able to lay him to rest. "Any donations would be very much appreciated. "Thank you so much for your support Ibbotson Family." If you wish to donate to the search, click here