28-year-old Sala was playing for French club Nantes in January 2019, when he was signed by Cardiff City, then playing in the English Premier League, for 15 million. Having signed he returned to France to get his affairs in order, and a small plane was chartered to fly him back to Wales.
Sala, together with the pilot Dave Ibbotson, were in the air on the night of January 21st, when the plane lost contact with air traffic control north of the island of Guernsey, and began to descend rapidly.
When the plane could not be located, an intensive sea and air search began, which ended when the wreckage of the plane was found on the sea bed in early February, with the body of Sala still strapped in his seat. The body of the pilot Ibbotson has never been found.
Now the report of the formal investigation into the crash has been published, and it makes sober reading for the Sala family.
Whether they will consider the fact that he was probably deeply unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning at the time of his death is probably a moot point. Especially given that he sent a voice message whilst he was in the air to friends in Argentina that he was on a plane that appeared to be breaking up, and that he was scared.
The report has found that the pilot was not qualified to fly at night, and that he was not experienced in using the Piper planes instruments, rather than flying by sight.
It also notes that he was not licensed to fly that type of plane at the time of the flight and that the plane itself was not in a good enough condition to take fare-paying passengers.
The case itself remains s source of bitter contention between Cardiff and Nantes which has now gone to litigation. The Welsh team, now playing in the EFL Championship, have refused to pay the transfer fee for Sala, and there has been a sea of accusations and counter accusations as to who was responsible for chartering the flight that led to Salas untimely and tragic demise.