Specialist diving vessel arrive at Sala’s palne wreckage site in search for the missing pilot

A specialist diving vessel has arrived at the site of the plane wreckage where Emiliano Sala’s body was found, as the search for missing pilot David Ibbotson gets under way.

Divers are being deployed to try and locate Mr Ibbotson after his family raised nearly £250,000 to fund efforts to find him.

An official Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) search found no trace of the pilot earlier this month after the wreckage was located with Sala’s body still inside.

A deep sea dive is expected to begin today, while helicopter searches of remote coastal area have been under way during the past week.

The ‘Skin Deep’ vessel is at the crash site, 20 miles north of Guernsey. The boat specialises in taking dive teams and shipwreck hunters into the English channel.

It will be the first time divers have actually gone down to the wreckage. The AAIB investigation used remotely operated vehicles mounted with cameras to gather evidence via video and pictures, some of which were released in the interim report earlier this week. 

They found the plane extensively damaged, in three parts, held together only by electrical and flying control cables.

The engine had disconnected from the cockpit area, and the rear section of the fuselage had broken away.

Following the recovery of Sala’s body, the mission to raise the wreckage from the sea was aborted due to bad weather conditions.

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