Chesty Morgan
FAA definition[edit]
In the United States in particular, the Federal Aviation Administration calls this concept the minimum safe altitude (MSA), and specifically defines it as follows in §119 of Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR):
Anywhere: an altitude allowing a safe emergency landing without undue hazard to person or property on the ground;
Over Congested Areas: an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal distance of less than 2,000 feet;
Over Populated Areas: an altitude of 500 feet AGL;
Over Open Water or Sparsely Populated Areas: an altitude allowing for a linear distance greater than 500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure;
Helicopters: If without hazard to persons or property on the surface, an altitude lower than in definitions 2, 3, and 4 above, provided in compliance with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA.
If you google MSA you will find a few descriptions some non standard so apologies for using the term loosely
As to the above posts I also agree do not trust Spanish controllers or Italian
In Italy it is common to be put on a radar heading and forgotten so its a case of reminding the controller when things don't look right