Sala’s flight was delayed for TEN hours forcing pilot to take off at night

Emiliano Sala's doomed flight from Nantes to Cardiff was delayed by up to 10 hours forcing the plane to take off at night, MailOnline can reveal.

Pilot David Ibbotson had expected to fly the single-engine Piper Malibu plane on the morning of Monday 21 January, crossing the English Channel in day-light hours.

But the morning departure from Nantes-Atlantique Airport was cancelled and the flight took off at 7.15pm on Monday evening.

Officials have so far not explained why the flight was delayed.

In a further twist, the original flight plan named a different pilot for journey, who pulled out at the 11th hour, according to respected newspaper Ouest France.Mr Ibbotson is believed to have flown the US-registered Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft to Nantes from Cardiff on Saturday.

He stayed in the £68-a-night Hotel Kyriad on Saturday and Sunday night.

The 60-year-old from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, had booked a taxi to take him from his hotel to the airport at 7.30am on Monday 21 January so that he could take controls of the Piper Malibu plane.

But the light aircraft pilot cancelled the early morning taxi and checked back into his hotel room where he stayed for the day. He then left the hotel for Nantes Bouaye Aeroport at about 6pm for the evening flight.

'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 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.'

The hotel is less than three miles from Nantes Atlantique Airport and is popular with budget travelers. The adjoining Les Champs d'Avaux restaurant is a favourite with locals as well as guests.

She added: 'He had dinner in the restaurant on Saturday night. But he was alone. He had a main course and some wine. I did not see him with any visitors when he was here.'

The plane is thought to have crashed into the English Channel due to ice either becoming clogged in the propeller or affecting the wings.

The Piper PA-46 Malibu left Nantes airport at around 7.15pm on Monday and was on route to Cardiff, where Sala was joining up with his new teammates.

But after an hour, the pilot asked air traffic control to reduce altitude from 5,000ft to 2,300ft. It is thought he may have been trying to get to warmer air after the propeller or wings became covered in ice. But a short time later, the Guernsey coastguard was alerted that the aircraft had disappeared from radar screens.