When I used to live and fly in the CIs many years ago I remember whispers of an insurance job ditching near Alderney, the Casquets location ensuring that the changes of finding any evidence pretty much nil due to the tides and currents. Legend had it that the pilot was collected and survived to do it again. CI secrecy is famous and this could all have been Aero Club wind-ups of course.
I used to fly to Alderney from Jersey and back every day in a single engine piston, clearance was always SVFR not above 1000, got caught by the 40 knot fogs a few times and had to divert to LFRC....is VFR at night allowed in French airspace now?
Why would the transponder cut out over water at 2300 unless there was a problem in flight, fire/structural failure? Would icing affect the antenna?
Anyhow can only imagine what must have been going through that footballer's mind in his last few minutes, it doesn't bear thinking about. RIP.