But no FAA licence for flying N reg internationally is the point. I am not interested in his media presence.

That is why I said jets. The two aircraft you listed are not jets.
The N registed Eclipse jets however....

Cardiff refuse to pay transfer fee; https://news.sky.com/story/emiliano-...-fifa-11674924

15 million on the line and a load of grey area cowboys in the mix.... if it wasn't for two people dead it would be entertaining.

Which means Nantes FC short of 15m, Sala`s beneficiaries are short of the tfr fee which would have been due to the player and his future earnings from a promising career. A tragic loss of lives and a financial catastrophe and for what, saving a pittance in cost of flying from A to B. Or was it for convenience, It must be said that had such a convenience not been available then the likelihood of the event would have been considerably less.

Well, if he player was still on their books, he will still be covered by their life insurance which they must have for key personnel ... unless it's like our corporate insurance, which specifically stipulates (I looked) that it includes "Travel by scheduled airline service, and by multi-engined charter aircraft".

I wonder how many Malibu (or Pilatus) pax have that condition.

Yes, insurance is the key point to stress here. As I posted earlier our business insurance excluded aviation except as passenger on multi-engined aircraft operated on an AOC. Current rates for personal life assurance are about £12 extra (over and above normal premium) per £100000 life cover per month. So a typical PPL holder OR PASSENGER with £300,000 mortgage will pay about £36 extra per month or go without insurance cover.

I wonder how many Wingly etc. passengers realise their families could be left penniless and homeless should their flight end in disaster? I think the CAA which tolerates these illegal charters under the guise of cost sharing should at least point out the financial risks. In my 26 years of flying I knew of two such fatals, and in those days any form of payment was illegal except for licensed commercial operations.

some more reporting on the legal situation today:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...tract-15941596

Whatever the legal outcome may be, the most outstanding and critical aspect of this will remain as to how it came to pass that 17million euros worth was trusted to be placed in the hands of an unknown quantity. Was it just incompetence, ignorance, favors owed or know somebody who knows somebody who is, dare I say the name, a Jimmy will fix it I guess it will all be revealed when the whole mess ends up in the courts, sooner or later.

Interesting what you chose to highlight from the article Mike.

I go with this...

MM is a total legal eagle monster.

All involved with this tragedy can look forward to their arses being well and truly exposed in a court of law. And that includes the CAA.

Indeed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-47749265

All one can say is, "You read it here first, on PPRuNe". :)

Of course, Media interest will fade quickly, given some 'other things' going on, but at least it's nice to see some of the 'facts' going into the open. Slightly tidier reporting would be nice, rather than random paragraphs, but that's just my pedantry.

To me the fact that the pilot was in breach of his license (commercial, night) is no longer the issue, it will be undoubtedly listed as a breach contributing to the crash, possibly following the "aviate" issue of spatial disorientation and/or icing. What is more important is that this high profile case is an opportunity for the CAA to clamp down on grey charters and bring us back to what the law intended. Commercial is commercial, private is private, and introducing the FAA "common purpose" would be a good start.

"" GREY CHARTER OPERATOR" It is this falsity that has given rise and a common acceptance that similar to many branded goods traded under this term that such services as aircraft charters are not fakes, not illegal but cheaper than the branded goods or services. I do not consider this term acceptable to describe and convey the correct sense of what it really it is. In my view the whole thing is an illegal operation and everyone who has been involved in it should face prosecution. The law needs to be strengthened to deter all those so involved, starting with the owner of the aircraft, ending with the pilot and all those in between who have been part of the whole chain. That will put an end to it once and for all.