Like many people, I have been following this with mixed opinions.
From the pilot’s perspective the pressure on Ibbotson whether self-induced or external to do this flight must have been immense. Most of us have experienced this uncertainty to fly or not fly. And I feel some empathy for him in this respect. Balanced against this is that he must have known he was going to find this flight very uncomfortable, outside of his licence privileges and probably outside of his flight experience? Anyone suitably qualified who flies the pressurised P46 aircraft would never ever have flown this trip as low as he did. It would have been a simple climb to altitude under an IFR clearance and similarly an IFR recovery at Cardiff. Hence my assessment that pressure to do this flight must have been substantial as he must have known it was going to be one of those flights that would cause, at best, significant pilot anxiety.
Moving to the organisers, the recent arrest of an alleged organiser for “Manslaughter by an Unlawful Act” was one that seems to have generated some scepticism about the CPS likelihood of a successful conviction? I didn’t know what Manslaughter by an Unlawful act meant. So I looked on the CPS web site. It seems to come down to relatively few and simple tests
What has to be proved to show this; I quote from CPS web site
“The offence is made out if it is proved that the accused intentionally did an unlawful and dangerous act from which death inadvertently resulted”
So was the act of the organiser(s) both criminal and dangerous? Criminal possibly if the organiser(s) accepted any form of fee and knew about Ibbotson’s lack of CPL, IR, night rating, lack of valid currency etc etc. And surely any charter organiser would know these details for any pilot he chose to fulfil a trip? If he didn’t that too would present an organiser in a very bad legal light.
Then was it dangerous? And “danger” has just to be the opinion of a “sober and reasonable bystander” not what the opinion of the accused was. This looks like it would a much easier test to demonstrate. Who on this forum would stand up and say this flight was safe even without the benefit of hindsight?
I think the chances of a successful prosecution outcome may be higher than others have said......