Haunting simulation recreates Emiliano Sala's final moments

The final moments of football star Emiliano Sala's doomed flight have been recreated using official flight data.

The haunting simulation — which perfectly recreates weather conditions on the night of the crash — shows the tiny Piper Malibu plane battling through sleet and wind over the English Channel, The Sun reported.

An official probe into the cause of the crash is underway — but the footage gives a chilling insight into the $27m ace's last moments.

It will not form part of any investigation into the cause of the crash.

The unofficial simulation shows the two-seat plane — piloted by David Ibbotson — taking off from Nantes airport in north west France at 7.15pm.

Footage from the Grimsby Telegraph-commissioned simulator shows the plane rising into the freezing skies as it heads towards Cardiff.

The aircraft passes over Rennes and on towards St Malo in Brittany — before turning left towards the Channel Islands as night falls.

Just 65km out from Jersey, the plane is steady at an altitude of 5000ft (1.5km) — conditions perfect for icing.

Tributes are placed outside the Cardiff City Stadium, Wales, for Emiliano Sala, Friday Feb. 8, 2019. Tributes are being paid across soccer to Argentine player Emiliano Sala. Photo / AP

Nearly an hour into the flight, Ibbotson calls air traffic control with a request to descend.

Pilots claim conditions were perfect for deadly ice to form on the wings — and his move could have been a desperate attempt to melt it off by flying down to warmer air.

One told the Grimsby Telegraph: "Icing appears to be a real potential issue here.

"The ice builds up and disrupts the flow of air over the wings which provides the lift which allows the plane to fly.

"You then need more and more power to maintain that flow of air. Then your power runs out.

"At that point your plane stops being a plane. Your wings just stop doing what they are supposed to do which is keep the aircraft in the sky."

Sala's body was pulled from the wreckage last week after the plane he and Ibbotson were in came down near Alderney on January 21.

An official search for the downed plane was called off on January 24 but more than $540,000 was raised by football stars including Lionel Messi to help fund a private search.

The wreckage was discovered by the AAIB on February 3 and robot subs were used to pull the body out of the 67m-deep water "in as dignified a way as possible".