"Because once you hold an AOC (commercial carrier) in Europe, JAR OPS 1 applies for each single flight- even if the owner is on board. Unless you temporarily remove this particular A/C from your AOC- which is a very time consuming paper work. So i assume it was "for hire"."
Not necessarily true. Some operators do have exemptions for owner flights. (in Germany).
Some authorities do accept a simple "P" instead of "C" in the techlog and you´re private. (Luxembourg for example) [I know that JAROPS is actually saying something different, but thats how it works in real life]
BTW. D-A RWE would suggest another owner than Mr.Windhorst?
But then, does it really matter? At the time of the accident, they should not have been anywhere near the FDT limits. And if you regularly operate as an AOC pilot, you don´t "switch" your habits just because this one flight is privately operated. At least not regarding DeIcing, IMO.
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"Holdover time for type 1 fluid 75/25 in snow 6 - 15 mins with a lower temp limit of -14 for application"
"They actually deiced the a/c with type I fluid."
Mhhhh. May I ask how reliable your information is? I´ve heard all sorts of info on de-icing ranging from not deiced to your post...I do know that the surviving pilot said that they deiced.