Having watched this thread develop over the past week I do wonder about what makes some PPRuNers tick.
Vince has given his side of the story, if AVGH is indeed Biggles, which illustrates that , no matter how well we think we plan, things can go wrong. Initially I was somewaht sceptical about how the accident came about and quationed the ability of the pilot. However, what I have realised is that we all look at things slightly differently and there are not always rights and wrongs.
OK, if there has been an ATC infringement that does need to be seriously investigated and the AAIB need to be satisfied that there are no inherent problems with the aircraft design that contributed to the accident.
Frankly, until there is a full report we don't know and can't tell if fuel exhaustion was a cause or only a contributory factor ( fuel starvation due to low levels). As for his flight planning I can think of 20 different ways to plan a route from Barrow to Kinloss to avoid terrain, controlled airspace, obstacles, low cloud, etc. etc. and have any number of potential diversion airfields available as I flew north. Would any of these be any better than the direct track with Dundee as an diversion? - only in my opinion. And that's my point.
VH and any pilot should be free to plan what he/she sees as the most suitable route given the A/C available and the prevailing weather conditions. The responsibility rests with the PIC.
Was this flight carried out safely - I cannot judge, based on the hearsay evidence here. Certainly, there appear to have been issues with ATC at Scottish and around Edinburgh and, with hindsight, Vince may have cause to consider whether this transit at his chosen height was wise. If an infringement did occur then technically safety has been compromised.
The fuel planning is a matter for reflection because the decision to divert was made after the point at which it would have been obviuos thet Kinloss couldn't have been reached on remaining fuel. However, if there were 50 mins available this should have been plenty to divert to Dundee or an alternate.
If you accept Vince's account the engine failue may have been as a result of a low fuel state. The forced landing in the tree may have been as a result on inexperience and no PPLs practice forced landings enough. And even when they do they often make a mess of things when it happens for real - fact!
I didn't hear any of the radio work on the day but what goes for good RT in club flying will often sound amateurish against the clipped tones of professionals. Again, maybe some retraining is required but without a full transcript I will not judge.
Finally, can I say that I have heard some absolute howlers from fully trained commercial pilots at Edinburgh and elsewhere. Many are from foreign crew but there have been plenty form those that should know better. The best/worst of these was a Russian military A/C leaving edinburgh with a faulty transponder. They had no squawk and were told that Scottish wouldn't be able to acept them without one. These guys took off, turned right across the city and were last heard reporting enroute via newcastle!