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Emiliano Sala's last recorded message to a friend has come to light, years after his tragic death. The footballer admitted he was scared for his life on the plane and hinted that he was not going to make it to Cardiff.
Cardiff City signed Sala from Nantes in January 2019, in a deal worth £20 million. However, he flew back after signing a contract to say goodbyes to his former teammates and never made it back to England.
The BBC has obtained the last recorded message from Emiliano Sala and the pilot, David Ibbotson. In the clip, the former footballer is heard 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."
Pilot who flew Emiliano Sala also found the plane "dodgy"
David Ibbotson was the pilot who was drafted in a hurry as David Henderson, the pilot selected by the club to fly Emiliano Sala, could not take flight.
In the audio obtained by the BBC, Ibbotson sent a voice note to a friend, Kevin Jones. He complained about the plane before taking off, but still went ahead with the flight.
He is heard saying:
"I picked a footballer up from Cardiff. He's just been bought from Nantes for, I think it was about, £20m-worth or something. They've entrusted me to pick him up in a dodgy (aircraft). Normally I have my lifejacket between my seats, but tomorrow I'm wearing my lifejacket, that's for sure."
The voice note continued:
"I'm mid-Channel and 'bang'. I'm flying along and then 'boom.' I thought, 'What's wrong?' So I put everything forward and checked my parameters. Everything was good and it was still flying, but it got your attention.
"That Malibu, occasionally you've got like a mist every so often. You can feel it, very, very low throughout the airframe. This aircraft has got to go back in the hanger."
Henderson was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while Cardiff City were ordered to pay the first installment of the fee they agreed to with Nantes.
