Emiliano Sala plane certified to fly and had recent maintenance, says AAIB interim reportView looking at windscreen and cockpit area of the plane wreckage (Image: AAIB)The plane carrying Cardiff striker Emiliano Sala which crashed in January was certified to fly and had recently undergone maintenance, but the cause of the tragedy has yet to be established, an Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) interim report says. The Argentine died when the private plane bringing him to Cardiff crashed into the English Channel on January 21. N264DB on the ground at Nantes prior to the flight (Image: AAIB)View looking at remains of inner wing (Image: AAIB)Now an interim AAIB report has stated that the aircraft was certified to fly in September 2015 until September 2021, subject to relevant maintenance. The last maintenance was performed on the plane on November 30, 2018 and was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "N264DB [the plane] was equipped with an ice protection system that allowed it to fly into known icing conditions.

Source: Sky sports February 25, 2019 15:11 UTC