[KeithM]

Wasn't the flight arranged by Mr Henderson? Who would have been well aware it was a transportation flight, given that he was expecting payment, and (arguably) should, as a qualified pilot, have been aware of the possible legal issues.

...or is this going a bit too much into the 'no discussion prior to a court case' area?

Barcli beat me to the phrase that I was about to use!

[The Admin Team]

Have split the posts relating to IMCR rating off from this main thread.

[PaulB]

Have split the posts relating to IMCR rating off from this main thread.

I was *just* about to ask for that. Thx.

[Mike Tango]

I’ve not heard of Air Safety Group UK before...

[Dave W]

They aren't very detail-oriented: RM hasn't been sentenced yet.

About Us
The Air Safety Group is a voluntary group founded in England in 1964. It is composed of aviation professionals who hold the view that there have been, and to some extent still are, too many preventable accidents to Commercial Air transport aircraft. Furthermore, some of these accidents and their resultant casualties arise from inadequate action on the part of the aviation industry and its Regulatory Authorities.

To address these concerns, The Air Safety Group has, since its inception, lobbied continuously to achieve improvements. Notwithstanding these concerns, however, the Group fully acknowledges the great improvement in safety that has come about since its formation. Throughout its history, Group membership has comprised engineers, pilots, air traffic controllers, doctors, journalists, cabin crew, meteorologists and parliamentarians.

Membership is open to any individual interested in furthering safety in Commercial Air Transport. Corporate membership is not permitted but the Group welcomes individuals from other associations and professional bodies as members in their own right. The Group is always willing to co-operate with other bodies with similar aims. The Air Safety Group has political affiliates in both the House of Commons and House of Lords but it must be stressed that the Group is independent and is strictly non-party political.

In January 2008, the Air Safety Group and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order that the ASG may provide aviation safety advice to PACTS.

Our meetings are held five times per year at The Honourable Company of Air Pilots and other venues, generally, in London.

[MarvinPA]

I've been hesitant to ask, as I'm no more than an interested bystander, but two things have struck me about this incident, and neither has been mentioned either here or on Prune.

1. According to my iPad moon app, there was a full moon that night, moonrise was 17.18 at Guernsey, so around three hours before the accident, so reasonably full. Would that be enough to give visibility of clouds? He is thought to have diverted round at least one cloud, so presumably he could see something.

2. Given his height changes, some of which were quite rapid climbs, does that indicate that ice was not, after all, the main problem, if indeed it was a problem at all? Oh, bugger, just thought, pitot heat not on.......

Right, be gentle with me......

[MarvinPA]

The Phantom Thread Killer strikes again!

[johnm]

@MarvinPA as so often it depends, he might have been able to see some clouds, but not all, there's also the risk of misleading reflections and the goldfish bowl effect. Over water at night in weather with assorted clouds you would be instrument flying for sure. The relatively violent manoeuvres would suggest some level of distraction or disorientation...…


If airspeed indication was an issue that certainly wouldn't help, but power settings for cruise and descent would be known and ought to make that less important.

[ganzic]

I don't think the moon light would have helped here... Specially if you have a second layer above or its on the other side of a CB.

But would be interesting to see if divers recorded positions of the switches. If any survived the impact.

[Lockhaven]

I don't think the moon light would have helped here... Specially if you have a second layer above or its on the other side of a CB.

But would be interesting to see if divers recorded positions of the switches. If any survived the impact.

I believe recording of the switch positions would have been close to the top of the list for the ROV operators and divers

[Gertie]

why do you need to carry a logbook ?

Because the club wants to check your log book for the 90 day rule and/or club currency rules before renting you an aircraft, and it's an avoidable walk back to the car compared to just shoving the log book back in your flight bag.

[SteveC]

I never carry my logbook anywhere. It sits on my bookshelf at home and I fill it in when I get home.

[Lockhaven]

+1 above, never carried my logbook on any flight.

[PaulB]

Is anyone likely to ask you (or Steve C above) to produce it to demonstrate currency prior to rental? Others may not have that luxury so need to have it available for inspection. I'd much prefer to leave it at home but don't for the aforementioned reason.

[derekf]

Physical log book left at home, electronic online logbook always available