On 22 January, there was reported to be "genuine concern" that Sala was onboard a missing aircraft, a Piper Malibu, which was flying from Nantes to Cardiff. The aircraft, the same which he had travelled to Nantes in two days earlier,[1] had gone missing off Alderney on 21 January. It was confirmed later the same day that he was a passenger on the missing aircraft,[2] along with 59-year-old pilot David Ibbotson.[39] On 23 January 2019, Channel Islands Air Search said there was "no hope" of finding any survivors in the water.[40]