While I agree with the above that AOCs provide a level of safety, nothing is being done about WINGLY flights either. In fact someone is offering WINGLY flights from Cardiff to Jersey and Alderney in a PA28 during the winter months, it is unlikely that the WINGLY pax understand that these pilots are not professionals and that they really should be wearing immersion suits in the event of a engine failure.

Agree, it is just a matter of time before Wingly claims it's first victim.

Interestingly, my insurance policy explicitly forbids Wingly style flights - I wonder how many people are offering Wingly flights in aircraft for which this is the case.

I used to fly piston Malibus, but I've never heard of an unpressurized one.

I wouldn't describe it as entry level. A 172 is entry level.

There have been a number of Malibu accidents.

Stand corrected. The poster above is right on the unpressurized Matrix model.

Newspaper claims this is his last audio message sent from the airplane, complaining about the rough ride.

https://www.ole.com.ar/informacion-g...MKFFqSb_h.html

Well OK - it's the initial, lowest-powered, out-of-production version of the Malibu, if you prefer. :O

One hopes it is no way relevant to this thread, I'm merely correcting a falsehood having worked in the life insurance industry, the quoted statement is completely wrong.

What follows is valid in the UK and throughout Europe

Life insurance policies cover flying activities of all kinds through their special conditions, which appear to the customer (the insured) through extended questioning on said flying activity at the point of application and which will be legally recorded in the statement of particulars. All insurance providers differ in a marginal manner as to how they treat all manner of special conditions.

Generally, life insurance providers will not load for occasional flying activity (ie as an occasional passenger) but if they did for any reason, it would be clearly indicated in the life insurance cover documents.

Regular flying (ie as crew) will usually be covered following an analysis of the activity and with a subsequent premium loading.

Once on cover, and assuming nobody has told any fibs in the application, life insurance policies very, very, very rarely fail to pay out - the industry is massively regulated.

Sorry for the derail

Thanks, but the question was which Malibu could have been used for Sala's round trip from Rhoose to Nantes. If it was the Swansea aircraft, nobody seems to have recorded it passing through CWL.

Incidentally, it's misleading to refer to N264DB as "the Norfolk PA-46".. I don't know where it's actually based, but it's probably not East Anglia, ditto the other 900-odd aircraft registered to SAC at that Bungay HQ address.

1984 PIPER MALIBU 46-8408037 N264DB owned by a lady Nr Mansfield, registered to what looks like a family consultancy business

Sorry sellbydate buts that's a misunderstanding.

American registered aircraft cannot be owned by foreign nationals thus there is a system of "trusteeship" to get round that. All the UK based N reg aircraft are registered to just a handful of such entities such as Southern Aircraft. It also has the side effect of hiding the true owner.

To correct a few points : Guernsey is class D airspace at this altitude, so you need a transponder to enter, they normally do not give exceptions .. Any aircraft whatever its registration nationality that wants to fly in EASA airspace requires a mode S transponder . Mode A/C are no longer to be used,, In the USA you can still use the old A/C transponder but then you cannot enter, let alone be based in European airspace.
Same for ELTs, to fly in a powered aircraft in the EASA airspace you need a 406 ELT. As correctly said they normally activate on impact . but if antennae is damaged on impact or under water it does not work ( i.e AF447 , MH 270, etc.. )
To cross a EU border you need a flight plan , and yes there was an IFR one filed . not night VFR

Sadly this morning on French radio played a recording of Sala from inside the aircraft ( in Spanish) said to be afraid of the poor state of the aircraft .:-(

Wrong - title is to Southern Aircraft Consultancy but actual ownership is an individual in Mansfield

There is a video on the BBC website titled My Life as a ferry pilot and it's show this aircraft mentioned above. It feels very eerie listening to what he says.

Thinking of 1981...
Some aspects of this tragic event bring back memories of the loss of P.68 EC-DHE on 3rd October 1981. The aircraft departed from Cardiff with pilot plus 4 pax on board on a night IFR to Alicante but disappeared off Guernsey and has never been found. Reports suggest there had been loss of an engine but I recall icing was talked about at the time.

DH is the guy shown in the video I mentioned. I can't link it as I haven't reached 10 posts.