Some of the old airmen were very good. They could tell the wind, well enough, from the sea state, and make heading corrections that worked well enough. They could fly 100-200nm over open sea and find an unlit aircraft carrier.
Mind you, many didn't, and one doesn't read about those.
Today this is just crazy. You carry a handheld GPS and a handheld radio.
And you don't fly to the C.I. with near-empty tanks so you get the benefit of the lower fuel price, when you could have filled up at say Shoreham and - as an owner, for sure - pocketed the duty drawback on the exported fuel.
But we will continue to see accidents like this.