Fatal plane crash involving
Cardiff City forward Emiliano Sala

Emiliano Sala was a professional football (soccer) player for the Ligue 1 club in Nantes, France and had recently signed to be be a forward for the English Premier League club Cardiff City. Two days after signing on to Cardiff City, Sala was a passenger on a private aircraft flying from Nantes, France to Cardiff, UK.

The aircraft, a 1984 model PA-46-310P Piper Malibu, crashed in the English Channel near the Channel Islands city of Alderney. The wreckage of the aircraft, with Sala's remains inside of the aircraft, was found on 3 February 2019. The remains of the pilot, David Ibbotson, were not found. Sala and Ibbotson were the only two occupants of the aircraft.

The following synopsis is based information provided by the AAIB about the accident investigation:

Investigating Authority: Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the UK
Accident Date: 21 January 2019
Location: English Channel near Alderney
Aircraft: Piper PA-46-310P (Malibu), registration: N264DB

Other Information
AAIB Investigation updates
Issues surrounding the crash ( BBC - 9 February 2019)
Emiliano Sala Wikipedia Page
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