I regularly fly DCT from the SW to the Channel Islands. I’ve sailed all my life and flown for a good proportion of it. It beggars belief the risks pilots often take flying over the channel. I’ve sailed it at night often enough - it commands huge respect.
I own my own a/c and take the following precautions EVERY cross channel flight regardless of the wx conditions..
Firstly it’s my plane. I know every nut bolt and rivet.. she’s properly serviced and I ensure a thorough extra walkround before the flight.
I ALWAYS ensure that I’ve told someone what I’m doing and what to do if I don’t call them in x hours.
I wear:
Immersion suit (goretex and breathable)
lifejacket (manual inflate)
personal locator beacon
knife
i then carry a life raft and grab bag, in it:
space blankets
marine flares (lots of em!)
sea dye and orange smoke
bottle of water
glow sticks
leatherman
EPIRB
marine VHF radio
handhekd aviation radio
hoodie
carkeys and wallet
total weight is negligible and cost is about £3k all up..
IMO the above, or at least most of it should be mandated for anything carrying a passenger (my view is the if the pilot is alone and he doesn’t bother with this stuff, maybe he wanted to not be found). There is no excuse putting significant others, kids, friends etc in a situation where their safety isn’t paramount.
Also I did the GASco Course at the RNLI. I learnt how my life raft worked (getting the canopy up was far from obvious and I wouldn’t have been able to do it in a real emergency without having been shown first). We did the at night, rain, waves thing for an hour.. it was a huge eye opener!