I am very sorry for the families involved but I dread to think where this is going to go.
Just put the fact that Mr Sala was a £15m signing to one side for a moment, I wonder who on this board would allow a loved one to fly across the channel in an unknown 35 year old single-engine piston a/c, in winter, at night with no mode c using the services of a part-time pilot?
Once again, the innocence and lack of knowledge of the non-flying public puts them at risk.