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.
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 (pictured) 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 flight was cancelled and eventually took off from Nantes at 7.15pm that evening, 10 hours later
In a further twist, the original flight plan named David Henderson (pictured with the doomed plane) but he pulled out at the 11th hour, according to respected newspaper Ouest France
Sala was pictured on Sunday afternoon saying goodbye to his Nantes teammates in a photo poignantly captioned 'The Last Goodbye'
David Henderson's name was on a flight plan submitted to Nantes airport on Monday - the day of the journey - before it was cancelled and replaced with a second plan with David Ibbotson named as the pilot, officials have revealed.
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.
Sala, 28, (pictured on board a plane late last year) had just sealed a £15 million move to Cardiff City when his plane went missing over the English Channel near Guernsey on Monday night
Sala's family from Argentina including his mother (pictured) have begged the authorities to continue the search for the missing footballer who left Nantes to play for Cardiff City
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 before it disappeared
'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
