His family has raised £250k to continue the search
The search for David Ibbotson will resume next week after his family raised £250,000 in order to continue a private search.
Ibbotson was flying the plane that was carrying footballer Emiliano Sala when it went down over the English channel on January 21.
Ibbotson’s daughter has posted an update on the GoFundMe page which raised the money to fund the next effort to recover his body.
“Thank you all so much for your support,” she wrote.
“We are looking to have the Deep Divers start hopefully beginning of next week. We are just waiting on confirmation of dates to update you all.
“Also we are organising the helicopter searches of the coastal areas just will be starting a lot sooner than the Deep Dive.
“You have all been so amazing and thank you for all your kind messages and donations.”
Sala’s body was found during a private search after Guernsey Police called off their initial search after 24 hours of trying to find the aircraft.
Ibbotson has not yet been found, though, and deep sea divers will resume looking for the body next week.
The pilot’s family have spoken with authorities in Guernsey and Sark to organise a search route and want it to “start as soon as possible”.
The search will be coordinated by renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who has said helicopters will be arranged today, but has not clarified when they will take off.
Several footballers have donated to the GoFundMe pages that have funded the private searches, including Gonzalo Higuaín, Kalidou Koulibaly and Kylian Mbappé.
