Facebook posts shared before the flight departed on Monday night show Mr Ibbotson talking about being 'a bit rusty with the ILS (Instrument Landing System)'.
He tagged himself at Nantes Airport on Saturday before replying to comments about the flight on Sunday.
The pilot wrote: "Was not to (sic) bad when I got there but I'm a bit rusty with the ils, in France now."
A friend replied: "Rusty with the ILS?! I can't believe that!"
Mr Ibbotson added: "You wanna bet, a little on the high side hehe, better than on the low side."
Sala sent audio messages about the "bumpy ride" he was having as the
plane hit bad weather near Guernsey on Monday.
It lost contact near the Casquets lighthouse and vanished at 2,300ft at 8.30pm.
Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman said
Sala had "made his own arrangements" to make the trip from Nantes, where he had played before agreeing his switch to the Premier League.