2019 English Channel Piper PA-46 crash

On 21 January 2019, a Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Argentine football player Emiliano Sala was initially reported missing off Alderney, in the Channel Islands. The aircraft was travelling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales. The wreckage of the aircraft was found thirteen days later. On 7 February, a body was recovered from the wreckage and identified as Sala's.

Disappearance
The aircraft departed from Nantes Atlantique Airport at 19:15 GMT (20:15 CET) bound for Cardiff Airport. Sala had been signed two days previously by Cardiff City from FC Nantes. The pilot was identified by Guernsey Police as David Ibbotson. The last contact with Jersey air traffic control was a request by the pilot to descend from 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Contact was lost at 20:30 GMT, when the aircraft was at an altitude of 2,300 feet (700 m). It was then 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8 mi) northwest of Alderney, Channel Islands.

Sala reportedly sent an audio message via WhatsApp expressing concerns during the flight, saying "I am now on board a plane that seems like it is falling to pieces... If you do not have any more news in an hour and a half, I don't know if they need to send someone to find me. I am getting scared!"

Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Piper PA-46 Malibu, a six-seat type equipped with a single piston engine, registered in the United States as N264DB, serial number 46-8408037. The aircraft was manufactured in 1984. An airworthiness certificate had been issued on 11 September 2015.

The aircraft was registered to a trustee, the Southern Aircraft Consultancy in Bungay, Suffolk, United Kingdom.

Search and rescue
A search and rescue operation was launched, but was suspended at 02:00 GMT on 22 January due to worsening weather conditions. Although outside the United Kingdom's area of responsibility, HMCG sent two helicopters to assist in the search for the aircraft. A French helicopter was also sent to participate in the search, as were the Alderney and Guernsey lifeboats.

The search resumed at 08:00 GMT on 22 January. By 11:45 GMT, a total of 755 square nautical miles (2,590 km2; 1,000 sq mi) had been covered by five aircraft and two lifeboats, but no trace of the aircraft had been found. A French Navy vessel also participated in the search. As of 15:30 GMT on 22 January, one aircraft and one lifeboat were still searching, bringing the total area covered to 872 square nautical miles (2,991 km2; 1,155 sq mi). The search was again suspended in the evening of 22 January. Floating objects had been found, but it was not confirmed that they came from the missing aircraft. The search resumed at 08:00 GMT on 23 January with two aircraft searching coastal areas around Alderney. As of 11:30 GMT, a helicopter and three aircraft were continuing the search and trying to review satellite imagery and mobile phone data; there was still no trace of the missing aircraft.

On 23 January 2019, the Channel Islands Air Search said they had abandoned hope of finding any survivors in the water. The search now focused on the possibility that survivors were on a life raft in the English Channel. The official search was called off on 24 January because the chances of survival were said to be "extremely remote". The search had covered 1,284 square nautical miles (4,403 km2; 1,700 sq mi) of land and sea, covering Burhou, Les Casquets, Alderney, the north coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula, and the north coast of Jersey and Sark.

Salvage activity
A private search was launched on 26 January, funded by £259,000 raised in donations, via a specialised organisation. On 28 January, marine scientist David Mearns, who led the search, announced that a search vessel with an unmanned remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) was expected to be in place "by the end of the week". They planned to focus on some 25 square nautical miles (86 km2; 33 sq mi) of the seabed; the last known position of the aircraft was north of Hurd's Deep. In the meantime, two fishing boats were being used to carry out a surface search of the area. Mearns engaged the FPV Morven for the search.

On 30 January 2019, at approximately 13:58 GMT, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) reported that two seat cushions found near Surtainville were likely to be from the missing aircraft. AAIB identified a priority search area of approximately four square nautical miles (14 km2; 5 sq mi) and commissioned a survey vessel from the British Ministry of Defence with sonar equipment to search the seabed for the aircraft. The AAIB search carried out by the vessel Geo Ocean III started on 3 February, together with the private search, and was expected to last up to three days; the private search was set to continue "until the plane is located". The planned search was to cover an area of four square nautical miles (14 km2; 5 sq mi) about 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) north of Guernsey. The search area was divided between the two teams.

On 3 February the aircraft's wreckage was found on the seabed at about 0.5 nautical miles (1 km; 0.6 mi) from the last known location. The wreckage was at a depth of 220 feet (67 m) and there was a possibility that the bodies of Sala and Ibbotson were still on board.On 4 February, it was confirmed that the image from the AAIB search remote submersible had shown the registration mark and at least one occupant inside the wreckage. Recovery of the aircraft was expected to take place "as soon as is possible".

On 7 February, it was announced that a body had been recovered from the wreckage. The body was taken to the Isle of Portland to be passed to the Dorset coroner, where it was identified as that of Sala. Attempts to recover the aircraft wreckage were unsuccessful and poor weather conditions forced the salvage team to return the ROV to the ship.

Investigation
On 23 January, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch opened an investigation into the accident. Assistance is being given by the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses, Junta de Investigación de Accidentes de Aviación Civil and National Transportation Safety Board. Part of the investigation will cover the operational aspects related to the accident including licensing and flight plans. It was reported that Ibbotson held a private pilot licence, which would not have permitted him to carry passengers for profit.

After confirming on 4 February that the wreckage of the aircraft had been successfully located, the AAIB stated that it would publish an interim report on their findings within two weeks.