The Cessna 421B is G-BBUJ which was damaged at Portimao before August 2000. It still sits there at Portimao

Yes - I think that about sums it up

I could point you to a G reg airline accident involving a nosegear-less landing with pax on a scheduled international service.
Or rather, I couldn't, as no accident report was filed.
Well, one was, but it wasn't a paper one (the airline never troubled to pass that on to the CAA.)
And the result?
Nada. Zip. Nothing. And no official record of the event.

In terms of enforcement the CAA are a sleepy poodle with chocolate teeth and rubber balls.
I doubt that has changed in the not too many years since that occurred.

Was mentioned earlier but according to the Telegraph Cardiff's liabilities associated with the transfer are more like £30 Million including £2.5 million in fees to agents. They believe half (well 16 mil) is covered by the previously mentioned lloyds policy though I'd be fascinated to know what the definition of "passenger" is on that policy.

Edit Runway30 beat me to it... do you have any more detail on "passenger"?

That, is a big elephant and it is being discussed for years now.
In contrast to FAAs strict 'Don't even think policy', Europe has always been attracted by ideas of private 'special networks' and kept that not confined to Sicily. I doubt that'll change anytime soon. Just to throw some petrol to the campfire, Brexit could give the opportunity for CAA to adopt a more FAA-like approach ...

My thoughts exactly. I was an air taxi pilot in the 1980s before going into the airlines and I never heard of anything like this. We were a 2 aircraft operation and had our own ops inspector (subsequently a very senior person in the CAA and very professional) could cost cutting have anything to do with the hands off approach now?

Much the same as me. I knew this sort of thing happened too but had no idea it was so apparently widespread

Regarding the 'transcript' in post #524

I wonder what is the source of the transcript? It doesn’t have the appearance of a character-for-character copy from some sort of communication device (even if subsequently tidied-up).

Could it just be an after-the-fact subjective summary of the conversations? It does seem to have very good grammar and punctuation and be a bit ‘wordy’ for a series of text messages.

It just popped-up on Sky News four days after the event as “Text messages released between Sala and Jack McKay”. Released by whom - does anyone know?

The remarkable feature of this accident is the fact that a high value soccer player was being transported in a single engine aircraft, at night over water, by a 59 year old wannabe pilot plumber.
I do wonder in making the arrangements for the flight as to what sort of representations were made regarding the owner, operator and pilot. Whichever way you look at the picture, it is grim for all who have been involved. Some very serious legal consequences are inevitable.

Looks very typical to me.... and very credible too. Not sure how brief you get but much less and as we so often find, the content can be misconstrued or needs another text to clarify! Then there's the good manners aspect of not being rudely too brief.
No I doubt a journo wouldn't want to say exactly how they came across it though. But I'd put a fiver on it being pretty near the mark.

Presumably that's the incident referred to in the company report (although that states that it happened in FY2001/02).

It sounds like the aircraft never returned to the UK - it was cancelled from the UK register in September 2007 as "transferred to Portugal" and restored in June 2011, now owned by Portimao-based Aero VIP.

Its status has been "No flight" since June 2015, suggesting that it was flying prior to that.

ie the elephant wouldn't fit into a room!!!!! And I know who you mean on Rotorheads....:)

Thought you might!

SND

That aircraft used to be on my company's AOC in the 1980s, although we flew it almost exclusively for the automotive company that owned it. In light of the amazing revelations appearing here regarding non AOC 'charters' I'm pleased not to be in the business now. The CAA's attitude even in those days was far from satisfactory in this regard. We regularly flew a local company's executives from SEN to GLA in an Aztec and one day I was processing some other pax in the terminal at SEN. I noticed these clients there apparently chatting to a freelance pilot we often used and who had, in fact flown them under our AOC previously. It turned out they were flying to GLA in an Aztec this pilot had hired for them and they said "well, it's a lot cheaper to pay him the hire cost and for his services than using your company". I pointed out that his CPL did not allow him to offer this type of service and that their insurance could well be invalid if they went ahead and something went wrong. They shrugged this off so I phoned the CAA, told them the story and suggested they ramp check the aircraft at GLA. As it would be day stopping at GLA they would have plenty of time to organise this but they never did and I heard nothing more from them; no follow up at all. Obviously things haven't changed for the better since the 1980s.

In the BBC story covering the texts, in Sport, not News

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47013474

the exchange is noted as being translated from the original French, which accounts for its unnatural feel perhaps?

Here in France, any reporting on the transcript is clear that it comes from UK sources. I think that means that Willie McKay released it to the UK press having gained it from his son Jack who plays for Cardiff and having spent a considerable time in France, probably speaks French. I also think the transcript has been tidied-up to make it understandable because any text exchanges I happen to see between my kid's and friends are full of French colloquialisms!
The media here are also stressing the point that McKay has clearly stated that neither he nor his sons (two players and an agent) have any connection to the aircraft in question. They also state that they have contacted one person in the past, who runs an aircraft consultancy, to arrange flights around Europe which is exactly what they did this time.
Finally, while this incident is not getting the same level of coverage in French light aviation forums as it is in the UK, I have noted a couple of comments raising the question of how a passport from someone not actually in France was scanned or photocopied in Nantes

Is it just me that finds general aviation totally depressing? You read today's accident reports and they are exactly the same as the accident reports of 30 or 40 years ago. The same idiots doing the same stupid things with the same inevitable results. The same over-confident pilots overestimating their own limited abilities. The same petty crooks running the same dodgy charter operations. The same spineless authorities preferring to spend their time nitpicking reputable operators rather than enforcing the law against the real rogues etc etc.
All the while innocent people are losing their lives as a result.
Today, on this thread, I have learned for the first time of the existence of flight-sharing apps. God help us!

Contradictions...
This whole episode is riddled with contradictions. Mark McKay originally admitted arranging the flight, now Willie McKay says he did!
A few other points raise questions:-
1. Why did the a/c depart Cardiff for Guernsey at 12.15 on Saturday 19th, rather than flying direct to NTS? The return was planned as a direct flight.
2. Did it actually land in GCI?
3. How many POB were there when it left Cardiff?
4. Knowing that the passenger flew into Cardiff earlier (Friday) on Eclipse N531EA which regularly visits Guernsey, was a crew member from that a/c simply being given transport there?
5. Presumably DI was flying the a/c on Saturday as noted from his comment about his skills being a little rusty, but was he the sole crew member?
6. We are told the flight from Nantes to Cardiff on Monday was delayed by up to 10 hours, but the transcript of the messages sent to and from the passenger reveal that all along he was wanting a return to Cardiff on Monday evening - not earlier in the day. How can this contradiction be explained?
7. Apparently his "luggage" was photographed. Has anyone seen the picture to know if it was excessive?
8. Was extra fuel put on board contributing the excessive weight?
9. Might the additional weight have caused only two to travel on the fated flight rather than three? (We are still unclear as to the whereabouts of DH on Monday.)

Hello!

I know what you mean and you are absolutely right, but "GA" is much more than those private flights (someone already pointed this out some pages back). NetJets, just to name one of the most prominent ones, and lots of other commercial operators of charter airplanes operate by the same standards as airlines and have a similar safety record. Many companies have (private in the sense of the legislation) corporate flying departments that operate at an even higher level. All these are "GA". In my view that is the safest way to fly - otherwise multi-billion corporations would not allow their top executives to use them.

Unfortunately accidents like the one we are discussing here discredit general aviation as a whole by assigning attributes like "unsafe", "dangerous", "cowboy" and "lethal" to lightplane operation. My personal consequence of this accident will be to report any such flight I am aware of to the authorities in the future. So far whistleblowing has never been my thing, but I earn my living as a "GA" pilot and I will do everything I can to prevent operations like the one that led to this accident to compromise my professional environment.

What I meant was - a lot of luggage (the passenger was "moving house") and extra fuel in view of wx might have resulted in the other crew member being unable to fly because of weight restrictions, leaving DI to operate alone.

And THAT is the takeaway from this very unfortunate event.
Don't rely on regs, CAA, EASA, whatever.
If you see it, report it! to the TWR - if there is one, then to NATS, CAA, etc. We've seen in this thread that certain individuals have taken action when they've been suspicious that someone is exercising privileges of a license to which they are not entitled so to do. Even if you have to call the Police. Keep them on the ground until doubt is dispelled.

Time to clean up this town and preserve GA for those for which it's an abiding passion and for those for whom it's also a legitimate commercial venture with all checks and balances in order.

This is our manor these unscrupulous individuals are rotting up for the future and causing untold upset and pain in the mean time.

Would you care to share ?

7:43pm - Jack McKay: "My dad has told me that you are going home tomorrow. He could organise a plane to take you direct to Nantes and to come back on Monday, at a time that suits you

I struggle to see how McKay can not be legally responsible towards both Sala's family and Cardiff.
Agents often control all aspects of a players life, Sala was severally let down by his agent in my opinion.

why does everyone continue to mention wingly, when so far there is not a shred of evidence that wingly had anything to do with the crash?

He's not referring to the accident. He's making a comment about what he's learned about Wingly FROM this thread.
Don't forget - it's a discussion thread.

because Sala was a grown man and could make decisions for himself? by all accounts Sala declined Cardiffs offer to arrange a commercial flight.

And ignorance is no defence in law.

SND

Sala possibly thought he was getting a better service by flying in a chartered aircraft than taking a scheduled flight. Therein lies the problem.

This ↑↑↑↑↑↑↑

It does not seem he had enough information or was in a position to make an informed decision. McKay offered him an option, however how was he to know it was with SEP with a PPL Pilot?
With a pilot who was clearly out of his depth.

There is a reason there is a difference between CPL and PPL.