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PA46 Malibu N264DB missing in the English Channel

Alpha_Floor wrote:

Probably also faster to organise than chartering a jet etc. Maybe there wasn’t even one available or whatever…

Very hard to believe – chartering a jet takes minutes and I guess in France there are many available. It was more probably something like: “The boss will send his plane to pick you up” which sounds pretty assuring to someone who knows that “boss” has loads of money so probably has decent aircraft.
LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Snoopy wrote:

My bet is if two ATPLs / professionals had been up front and conducted this flight in IFR at FL200 everyone would be alive.

Most likely.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

French press is reporting that experienced ferry pilot Dave Henderson was in Nantes on the evening of the departure and was supposed to fly the Mailbu back to Cardiff – even filed a flight plan, but did not fly .

At any rate, he obviously knew the accident Malibu very well : https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-34492176/my-life-as-a-ferry-pilot

PS Amazing: he talks specifically about iceing @ 2 minutes into the video …

Last Edited by Michael at 24 Jan 10:31
FAA A&P/IA
LFPN

Emir wrote:

Very hard to believe – chartering a jet takes minutes and I guess in France there are many available. It was more probably something like: “The boss will send his plane to pick you up” which sounds pretty assuring to someone who knows that “boss” has loads of money so probably has decent aircraft.

Agreed.

But the idea of people capable of chartering a jet flying on SEP does not seem strange to me…

A similar situation is depicted in the TV series “Mad Men”, where Don Draper, a high level executive, is flown by his PPL colleague in a C172 and experiences a very rough flight through storm. These situations are quite common I believe.

EDDW, Germany

My bet is if two ATPLs / professionals had been up front and conducted this flight in IFR at FL200 everyone would be alive.

Actually just one ppl with an ir and a phone for getting wx would be just as good.

But we don’t know a lot of factors eg pilot wx experience, aircraft condition etc.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

What we do know is that the decision to fly anything with only one engine across the channel at VFR altitudes at night, in that weather, in the middle of winter, makes most of us whistle and shake our heads.

Other than the lack of an IR forcing him to be at VFR altitudes, I don’t think the pilot qualifications or experience make much of a difference. That flight was fundamentally very risky, whoever was at the controls. Ice and weather don’t vanish if you wave your ATPL and 10,000 hour logbook at them.

Last Edited by Graham at 24 Jan 11:41
EGLM & EGTN

Emir wrote:

Very hard to believe

Alpha_Floor is probably right, the broker who sealed the player transfer deal is probably the one who organized the flight

You will not have that many jets will do Nantes-Cardiff in a short notice, unless your employer has one, public transport travel is a mess between Nantes & Cardiff (no CAT flights) that GA looks like an appealing choice

I did GA trip London-Nantes many times last summer but always in a cheap 40£ CAT ticket in winter
Two weeks ago I was “GA tempted” with Gatwick drone shutdown with nice weather window but we still went 2 trains + rent a car that took 9h total vs 4h on GA

Probably with MEIR on a DA42, I maybe probably tempted to do it in winter+night in clear skies but not in imc, but I still I don’t see “much leisure pilot fun”doing it by night with ice/imc, even as “private pilot travel” it is not worth it in term of reliability compared to 40£ tickets in winter, as always one risk factor at a time, two is too much…

Last Edited by Ibra at 24 Jan 12:16
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Am I in isolation in saying having looked at the TAFs 999 out of 1,000 or whatever the flight should have been fine. In that aircraft with everything working and given the TAFs and METARs I have seen, and ability to climb on top (which I accept the pilot may not have had), the conditions were not that bad. Personally at night over the sea in the winter I wouldnt do the trip in a single, but then I am risk adverse to flying a single in certain circumstances that many would. The sea part would also be relatively short. I am not making comment about any of the legality considerations, simply commenting on a pilot with suitable experience and the type of aircraft involved, with all vital equipment fully serviceable and proven.

Ibra wrote:

You will not have that many jets will do Nantes-Cardiff in a short notice

I believe you’re wrong. Go to www.evolutionjet.aero or www.aviation-broker.com and you’ll get the quote.

Last Edited by Emir at 24 Jan 12:15
LDZA LDVA, Croatia

At this time of the year it’s really easy to charter a Mustang for this kind of flight.
In summer I won’t say the same…

LFPT Pontoise, LFPB
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