Emilano Sala was originally due to
fly to Cardiff at a different time with a different pilot at the helm.
The £15million striker and pilot
David Ibbotson are missing feared dead after their aircraft disappeared from
the radar.
And according Mail Online, the flight
was initally booked to depart on Monday morning but did not take off until
7.15pm.
Furthermore, a different pilot was
initially named on the manifest, according to reports in France.
David Henderson was assumed to be
flying the plane but was not in France at the time.
Mr Ibbotson, 60, did fly the aircraft
on its doomed voyage.
He had originally booked a taxi to
take him to the airport at 7.30am but later cancelled the journey.
“Mr Ibbotson asked me to book
him a taxi to take him to the airport at 7.30 on Monday morning,” a
receptionist at the hotel he was staying at told MailOnline.
“He told me the flight from
Nantes to Cardiff was scheduled to leave on Monday morning.
“But on Monday morning he
cancelled the taxi and booked back into the hotel. He spent the rest of the day
in his room and left at about 6.00pm.
“Mr Ibbotson arrived at the
hotel on Saturday. He stayed for two nights – Saturday and Sunday. He was meant
to check out on Monday. But he kept the room for Monday night although he did
not sleep here on Monday. He stayed in the room and left in the evening.”
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and Diego
Maradona have joined calls to resume the search for the missing plane.
Guernsey Police called off the search
on Thursday afternoon, but the player’s former club Nantes led calls from
across football for it to be resumed.
Barcelona star Messi added his voice
to the cause on Friday, writing on his Instagram story, said: “As long as
there are still possibilities, a hint of hope, we ask you please continue to
look for Emiliano.
“I send all my strength and
support to his family and friends. £PrayforSala.”
Another Argentinian football
superstar, 1986 World Cup winner Maradona, also posted on Instagram pleading
for the search to continue, with the message: “Hope never dies.”
Manchester City forward Sergio
Aguero, used the social media hashtag #NoDejenDeBuscar – “do not stop
searching”.
Nantes reacted with anger at the
decision to formally call off the search for Sala’s missing plane as the
striker’s sister begged rescue workers to keep looking for it.
An emotional Romina Sala, speaking in
Spanish, told reporters in Cardiff that she feels her brother and his pilot are
still alive.
Ms Sala travelled to South Wales after a light aircraft carrying her brother and the pilot disappeared from radar on Monday night.
Guernsey’s harbour master Captain
David Barker earlier confirmed the “difficult” decision to end the
search, saying the chances of survival were “extremely remote”.
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