David Ibbotson, the pilot who was responsible for transporting Cardiff City’s record-signing Emiliano Sala via plane, did not have a license for commercial flights according to investigators.

The Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB), confirmed that Ibbotson only had a private pilot’s license, which means he could only fly passengers in the EU on a cost sharing basis, not for reward.

Investigations also prove that the plane in which they were travelling was not licensed to fly commercially either.

Ibbotson was tasked with bringing Sala back to Cardiff after the former FC Nantes striker had returned to his club in France to tell his teammates goodbye on January 21. After going missing for nearly two weeks, Sala’s body and the wreckage of the plane were found on February 3.

Ibbotson has not yet been found, but his family is hoping for a breakthrough discovery, after a new search for his body was initiated with funds from public donations.

Sala died when the plane crashed close to on the way to Cardiff from Nantes, after being signed to Cardiff City for £15m just a few days prior. Post-mortem exams have revealed that he died from head and chest injuries. He was 28 years-old.

— Brian Pitter