London: The pilot of a small plane that plunged into the English Channel with newly-signed Premier League striker Emiliano Sala on board was not authorised to fly at night, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The report said that the pilot, David Ibbotson, was colour blind, which would have automatically disqualified him from night flights. Contacted by news agency AFP, Britain's Civil Aviation Authority did not confirm the report, saying only that an investigation was still under way. The Air Accident Investigations Branch said: "Licensing continues to be a focus of the AAIB's safety investigation, but matters of legality are an issue for the regulator."