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Family members of Emiliano Sala have been for a flight around the islands to see for themselves the expanse of sea where the plane carrying their beloved son, brother and friend, along with pilot Dave Ibbotson, is believed to have disappeared.
The Sala family are in Guernsey, to relaunch the search for the two men and the Piper Malibu aircraft they were on, now that more than £300,000 has been raised for the cause via a gofundme page.
The success of the high profile fundraiser has also seen the family secure the help of oceanographer David Mearns to try and track down the plane's whereabouts. He has had other successes including finding the WWII wreck HMS Hood and MV Derbyshire.
The Sala family were back at Guernsey Airport earlier this morning, having only arrived yesterday, to get on another flight.
This time they had chartered a plane from Aurigny to take a flight around the Bailiwick, so they could see for themselves the Channel and where the single engined plane may have entered the water almost a week ago.
They took flight GR1120 for the trip circling Alderney this morning, arriving back at the airport at around 10:45 where they didn't stop to speak to waiting reporters.
Aurigny confirmed the family had used one of their craft to conduct the initial flight this morning, saying:
"Aurigny can confirm that we operated a commercial scenic flight service this morning out of Guernsey which flew to the west of Alderney and around Alderney before returning to Guernsey."
The Family of Emiliano Sala arriving back at Guernsey Airport from Bailiwick Express on Vimeo.
The plane carrying Pilot, Mr Ibbotson and the professional footballer went off radar last Monday night, at around 20:30 as they flew near Les Casquets lighthouse off the coast of Alderney.
An immediate search and rescue mission was launched with volunteers manning the Guernsey based Channel Islands Air Search plane and the Alderney and Guernsey lifeboats. Other rescue vessels from the UK joined the search but nothing was found in the following days.
The official search for the Piper Malibu aircraft and the two missing men was called off three days later, on Thursday 24 January.
At the time, Guernsey's Harbourmaster said everything that could be done had been done.
Pictured: Guernsey's Harbourmaster speaking to the media last week.
Further information about what the Sala family are planning to do is expected to be revealed this afternoon.
Fishing vessels are believed to still be searching the areas most likely to offer some clues as to what happened to the light aircraft and it's occupants. Mr Mearns is expected to be offering up more information later today.
We have enlisted the assistance of 2 Guernsey fishing vessels that have been visually scanning the area of the last radar contact for any clues to the plane's whereabouts. This search started Saturday morning. I am currently en-route to Guernsey to plan the next search phase
— David Mearns (@davidlmearns) January 27, 2019
Pictured top: The Sala family arriving back in Guernsey this morning.
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