Gosh, IO, you may be even more cynical than me. The compensation culture is truly depressing, and I''m glad that my work mostly keeps me away from it, but I don't think that we should be scared of our passengers. Of course we should insure ourselves (I find it odd that insurance is not yet compulsory, although of course this is likely to change). In the case of a passenger claiming damages for negligence, the threat to blow the whistle on an illegal flight might be a pressure tactic, but it would be of little effect if the flight was in fact a kosher one. I agree, however, that one of the reasons not to push one's luck with creative interpretations of "private" flying is that, if something goes wrong, the ensuing mess may be even messier than it might otherwise be.