MelEager, It think you mean the Cessna 404 Titan G-ILGW accident, near Glasgow on September 3rd ,1999.
The positioning crew was from Airtours International Airways and was to fly a charter B757 from Aberdeen to Palma de Malorca.
https://assets.publishing.service.go...001_G-ILGW.pdf

By the way, what is a "Perf Cat A aircraft" ?
My understanding is that a CAT A aircraft is one having a final approach speed lower or equal to 90kt.
So, it's a small aircraft and it looks to conflict with your other criteria.

I'm not in the aviation industry, just interested, and I would like to ask a couple of questions please.

1. In relation to VFR and IR flying, firstly, I presume it is reasonable to assume that a VFR only pilot will have a fair knowledge of the cockpit instruments and how to use them, but not so much of instrument landing techniques.

When flying over sea on a moonless night, is that still considered a VFR flight?

2. Not being a commercial pilot, he will be restricted to 6,000 feet. If there was an emergency would he be allowed to fly higher then 6,000 feet to deal with that emergency?

3. I've read the interim AAIB report and it says that 'at 1958 hrs, the controller asked the pilot to check if the aircraft’s altimeter pressure setting was correctly set to 1013 hPa, because the information on the radar indicated FL53. The pilot acknowledged and, shortly afterwards, the aircraft climbed to FL55'. I also notice wayward height movements of the aircraft as seen by radar in the last three minutes of flight.

If flying into foul weather can the pressure as seen by the aircraft vary enough to give wrong readings?

That wasnt the rational of the call. The controller was politely suggesting he could see some gash height holding and it was a polite way of asking him to fix it

Hi,

1. Yes
2. Not restricted to 6000'. Ironically, a private flight could have been undertaken legally (although this wasn't) but a commercial flight with pax in that aircraft is illegal at night.
3. Yes sort of. But the reason for the instruction to check 1013 was because he was flying to a "flight level" eg he sets 1013 and then FL55 is when the altimeter reads 5500'. The controller could see he was either low or had the wrong setting. Above a certain altitude known as transition altitude, aircraft always fly flight levels. The height of the transition altitude varies from place to place.

I have heard it rumoured on similarly good authority that it had long since ceased to be valid for want of renewal.

That's correct

It can be, but regulations put many limitations:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ...01:0066:EN:PDF
1. The flight must remain at least 1000 ft above terrain (2000 ft in designated mountainous ares)
2. The vertical distance from airplane to clouds must be at least 1000 ft (so a total ground cloud distance of 2000 ft)
OR the plane must be clear of clouds and with the surface in sight (which is not possible over the sea on a moonless night) and the clouds must be at least 1500 ft above the ground surface.
Practically, for flying legally over the sea at night, the cloud ceiling must be way above 2000 ft.
But "legal" doesn't mean "safe".

There is no altitude restriction on non-commercial flights.
However, VFR flights are restricted to altitudes lower or equal to 19,500 ft.
And VFR flights may not fly in controlled airspaces of class A.
In UK, the airways are class A airspaces.

Yes, but hardly more than 1 hPa at a time (1 hPa ~= 30 ft)

Even if that ILS were in France, where the IMC rating would not have been valid in any case!

...furthermore he needed an IR on his FAA private which he didn't have. Nothing else would make his ILS into Nantes legal in an N reg.

Thats not an elephant in the room - we have been told that was D Henderson

Sad to say that David Mearns's search for Dave Ibbotson has proved fruitless . Mr Mearns has reported this afternoon on Twitter :-

The reminder to the pilot to set 1013 could be seen as fairly sloppy cockpit procedures. When cleared to climb to a Flight Level a pilot would normally change the altimeter to 1013. The instruction "climb to flight level five five" has a full meaning of " Climb to five thousand five hundred feet with your altimeter set to 1013 mbs at a minimum rate of five hundred feet per minute and then maintain that level until cleared otherwise". Most ATC speak has official meanings far beyond the words spoken.


Actually, probably not. As there was no Air Operators Certificate in force (nor could there be) and as a result no responsible officers, under British law the commander of the aircraft makes the decisions and takes the responsibility. A licenced engineer takes responsibility for the serviceability of the aircraft, but it is up to the commander to confirm this.

Aircraft commanders have awesome authority, but equally awesome responsibilities.

Probably the same in France and who knows with the Americans.

The pressure setting on the altimeter has no effect on the Mode C readout. The Mode C reference uses a seperate capsule that is calibrated to 1013. Either the reference capsule is faulty or the pilot is flying inaccurately.

Or is flying perfectly accurately on the wrong pressure setting

2Donkeys, Oggers, a pilot may legally fly an ILS approach under a VFR flight plan if the control allows it.
In VMC, of course.
The arrival to Nantes had been in VMC under a VFR flight plan

Not in this case. No safety pilot, no legal. You cannot practice an ILS under VFR without a safety pilot.