The investigation into the crash that claimed the life of Emiliano Sala is likely to take a year to conclude and cannot be used by Cardiff City as a reason to delay paying Nantes for the player, Sportsmail can reveal.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) indicated that the average time taken to complete such an inquiry is 12 months.
The inquiry will include interviews with the Piper Malibu's owner, whose identity must be made known to the AAIB.
Although Cardiff have indicated that they do not intend to make any moves until the conclusion of official investigations into the crash, in which pilot David Ibbotson also died, legal experts say the club have no grounds on which to delay the first tranche of the agreed £15million fee.