LONDON • The wreckage of the plane that vanished with Cardiff's record buy, Emiliano Sala, on board was found within hours of a search starting in the sea off the Channel Islands.
A search boat hired privately by the striker's family - thanks partly to a crowdfunding appeal - located the downed plane on Sunday.
The crew passed the details of the location to the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to check the spot.
There was no immediate official confirmation of what was found but the shipwreck specialist leading the private investigation, David Mearns, said the missing plane had been discovered.
He added that it had been located by the privately hired vessel FPV Morven, and the AAIB's vessel, the Geo Ocean III, had visually identified the wreckage with an ROV.
Yesterday Mearns tweeted: "The families of Emiliano Sala and (pilot) David Ibbotson have been notified by police. The AAIB will be making a statement tomorrow. Tonight, our sole thoughts are with the families, and friends."
The AAIB corroborated his statement by retweeting his tweet and it is understood it will be up to it to recover the plane.
The Piper Malibu PA-46 carrying the 28-year-old striker, who moved to the Premier League club for £15 million (S$26.5 million) on Jan 19, and Ibbotson, 59, disappeared over the English Channel on Jan 21 after leaving Nantes for Cardiff.
During the journey, the pilot had requested to descend, before losing contact with air traffic control.
An official search operation was called off on Jan 24 after Guernsey's harbour master, David Barker, said the chances of survival were "extremely remote".
The termination caused an outcry, with supporters of the family - and footballers, including Sala's compatriot Lionel Messi - calling for the search to be resumed.
An online fundraising campaign, which was organised by Sala's agency, Sport Cover, paved the way for Mearns to lead the probe.
Fellow footballers, including Kylian Mbappe, donated to the fund, whose target of €300,000 (S$464,650) was reached within a day. When contacted by Argentina's Cronica TV, Sala's father, Horacio, was in disbelief over the news, saying it was "a bad dream".
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN
Manchester City: How Pep Guardiola's team wowed Match of the Day pundits. Manchester City's route to the Premier League title has been untouched by serious opposition - a coronation in the making
ROAD CLOSURE & PARKING INFORMATION: Madison VanDenburg's
Premier League leaders Manchester City recovered from two goals down to beat Championship side Swansea City 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals. Having secured a last-eight spot in the Champions League to go with their League Cup title, City made a strong start as they looked to continue their quest to
Man City Come From Two Goals Down To Reach FA Cup Last Four
February 9, 2019 Liverpool's Joel Matip in action with Bournemouth's Lys Mousset Action Images via Reuters Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League with a confident 3-0 victory over
Liverpool back on top after 3-0 win over Bournemouth - Egypt
Football: Klopp dismisses talk of Liverpool crumbling under pressure Liverpool drew 1-1 at home to Leicester City, prompting questions about their ability to stay the course. PHOTO: REUTERS
Klopp dismisses talk of Liverpool crumbling under pressure
Chelsea face a partial closure of Stamford Bridge However, UEFA will decide on Friday whether to open its own disciplinary case. The European football's governing body's regulations state that
The punishments Chelsea could face after UEFA charge for
Mario Balotelli refused to speak about his nightmare Liverpool career but had no qualms about criticisng Nice's Ligue 1 title rivals Paris Saint-Germain, calling them a team of individuals.
Football news - transfers, fixtures, scores, pictures | The Sun
Football: Son's South Korea survive Bahrain scare to reach
Fulham, yet to keep a clean sheet this season, stayed rooted to the bottom of the table with nine points from 17 games, while the Hammers' fourth league win in a row lifted them to ninth place on
West Ham beat Fulham 2-0 to post fourth win in a row
Bayern vs Liverpool: Reds won't sacrifice Champions League for Premier League, says Alisson. The Merseyside club, who face Bayern Munich in the Champions League later on Wednesday, are also in the
Lionel Messi moved one clear of Cristiano Ronaldo as the Argentine received a record fifth European Golden Shoe award after netting 34 goals last season. The award is given to the player with the
Messi claims record 5th Golden Shoe - Punch Newspapers
Schools across the United Kingdom have recorded a significant surge in number of racial abuse cases as calls increase for more protection for pupils and teachers from different religious and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian newspaper said in a report published on its website on Saturday that around
racial | meaning of racial in Longman Dictionary of
Atletico Madrid beat Valencia, delaying Barcelona's eight La Liga title in 11 years. David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images Alvaro Morata put Atletico ahead on a rain-swept evening in the ninth minute by knocking a cross in from close range on the volley but Valencia equalised in the 36th through former Atletico forward Kevin Gameiro .
Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid - BBC Sport
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen