Originally Posted by
A and C
What did for the poor man was his decision to start the engine, from that point on disaster would only have been avoided by pure chance.
A and C I think you are being a little harsh here. He passed over the Island and airfield at Guernsey in VMC and under control at that point. The flight became problematic for him when he hit the storm cell to the WNW of Alderney. He could have and should have diverted to Guernsey and none of us would have heard of him or his passenger again. Or he could have routed via Southampton all in VMC. I don't agree that night flying over sea is especially onerous and he would have made either destination with ease. Anyway, it seems likely that he started to hand fly at precisely the wrong moment...