The private search team, that was crowd-funded after pleas from Sala's family to continue, discovered the wreckage on Sunday morning of the aircraft which carried the Cardiff club-record signing and Ibbotson.
The Piper Malibu aircraft disappeared from radar on 21 January but the search part confirmed video footage taken by a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) identified the missing plane by its registration number - N264DB.
Oceanographer and marine scientist David Mearns confirmed the wreckage had been found about 63 meters underwater, after 'a couple of hours' of searching the seabed.
"The AAIB is now considering the next steps, in consultation with the families of the pilot and passenger, and the police."
— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 4, 2019
There has been no confirmation whether the body is that of the Argentina or Ibbotson at this point - while a decision has yet to be taken on whether to raise the wreckage to the surface.
"I can not believe it. This is a dream. A bad dream. I'm desperate," Horacio Sala, the father of Emiliano told Cronica TV in Argentina.
"I communicated with them every day, but since I do not have Whatsapp it's hard to call them or call me.
"They told me that the days passed and there was no news of Emiliano or the plane."
Mearns, a renowned shipwreck hunter who headed the private search for Sala, confirmed to the media yesterday via Twitter that the wreckage was found.
"Wreckage of the plane carrying Emiliano Sala and piloted by David Ibbotson was located early this morning by the FPV MORVEN," he wrote.
"As agreed with the AAIB they moved the GEO OCEAN III over the position we provided them to visually identify the plane by ROV.
"The families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been notified by Police."