Vince has, quite rightly, pointed out that much of the talk here is pure supposition, based on reporting in the media (with all the inaccuracy that inevitably brings), However, we have been given enough information from several reputable sources, including Vince himself, to be convinced that Vince made several serious errors of judgement, although it's equally clear that poor old Vince is completely oblivious to his own failings.
I'm more than slightly surprised that Vince hasn't answered any of the core questions raised, but instead has chosen to behave rather like a politician in avoiding the key issues, this says as much about his approach to flight safety as any of his actions on that fateful flight.
Clearly Vince was fairly ill-prepared for this long trip. He seems to have not understood some very basic things, like the way his aircraft's fuel system worked, or the need for proper fuel planning, with safe reserves. His knowledge of general airmanship matters, like how to safely cross areas of controlled airspace, use the radio, his understanding of simple fundamentals like flight levels and the law as it applies to his aircraft type and licence all seem to have been sadly lacking.
Frankly I'd like to see his instructor/examiner come on here and explain how Vince came to be given a licence with such a poor knowledge of these basics. Perhaps Vince managed to bamboozle him/her too.
For those that hold out some hope that all will become clear in the AAIB report, I hate to disillusion you, but I doubt they will even so much as glance at the wreckage or visit the scene. The severity of the accident wouldn't warrant any sort of formal investigation, I'm sure, so will probably be very largely based on the hype that Vince spouts forth.
This is a great shame, as I think there are some good lessons to be learned from Vince's moment of fame. The most important lesson is perhaps to ignore Vince's proffered wisdom that it's a good thing to emulate the hero from a work of fiction and choose to execute a semi-controlled crash into a tree. The second most important lesson is to remember that powered aeroplanes need a certain minimum amount of fuel remaining in order to continue to fly...........
VP