I do think we should be careful as a million assumptions slowly become 'fact' on this thread.

Whilst the whole duck thing is generally valid (walks like, looks like etc.), there is an absence of hard fact and fast amounts of conjecture...

Just sayin'

PS We're not the only ones reading this thread, and two people (with families) died...

Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't; Cork and Chalgrove are two examples of relatively recent incidents where this forum basically had the primary cause nailed on day 1.

I'd agree that rigorous and thorough accident investigation makes a substantial contribution to air safety and I'm not suggesting for a moment that we shouldn't do all we reasonably can in this, or indeed any other case.

That said, it seems from what's been posted that there are many things that were wrong in this case that will remain wrong whatever the primary cause. In my opinion, even finding wreckage showing incontrovertible proof of catastrophic engine failure won't make conducting this flight in the manner it was conducted any more of a reasonable decision.

Ironic though that before signing for Cardiff Sala got a Corporate jet and a Commercial Pilot , after signing he got a Plumber and a Piper

Echo Romeo/ test panel
 

There is of course some missing text or conversation, but did not McKay say to Sala : it's the SAME Company?

The question here of course what was McKay referring to? The same company that took Sala to Cardiff the first time?

I have tried to go trough most of the posts, and might have missed this, but did they Eclipse also fly him back to France after the signing for Cardiff? Or how did he return to France after the trip on the Eclipse?

I am curious to know what company is referring to when he says, it's the SAME company.

It's all supposition and guesswork but from he voicemail and messages I think at this point he (as in Sala) had asked to where to go to get access to the aircraft and the reply means the same ground handling agent at Nantes as before.

He returned to NTS on the fated PA46 which may or may not have flown via GCI. The original plan was that it should.

N264DB is in the Airframes dot org database with a Mode S Hex code: A28E26 (ICAO24). This strongly suggests that it was Mode S equipped.
None of the tracking sites have Mode S data though, while most have good coverage in the area. Mode S not switched on / unserviceable?

Looking at this thread, the sidebar advertising on my screen currently is all for Wingly. Cardiff-Jersy flights £108 per seat, Cardiff-Cherbourg for £139 per seat. Not the best place for such ads at the moment.

SND

No - I believe he was referring to the group of pilots that flew him around and their " company "

unlikely to take off and/or enter class D airspace without a working transponder I would say , especially at night ., not to mention entering UK airspace afterwards... Only possibility is it went u/s or inadvertently turned to SBY in flight ( still happens ) But you would at least notice its departure from NTS on FR24 then.

NAROBS No, it's not saying that - but there is a mingling of what is illegal, and what people might not like but is legal.

Like lumping weed and tobacco in together, I suppose...

Some sharing is shady business, some is not.

Not necessarily. The UK CAA and possibly other authorities issued mode S Hex codes to to all aircraft about 10 years ago whether they were fitted or not.

Maybe it should be mandatory that all aircraft are trackable on sites like FR24 and Radarbox etc.