Hi Don
Your e-mail received, here are the answers to your queries, some are already in your possession, i.e. the document, "The Search for My Missing Son"
Q1 The plane let Malta at approx. 8:45 pm on Saturday, she was seen taking to the air by the pilot / engineer who was a member of the panel in the first tape, he is interviewed on the second where he confirms this fact
Q2,3,4 & 5 The passengers on flight were ( page 2 paragraphs 10,11, 12 )
Q6 The Piper Investigator was called in by the Malta Civil Aviation Dept, his brief was to examine the debris only and present his findings, to Board in open session. His verbal report as recorded by myself on Wednesday 14 May 1997 are in a document which should be in your possession, but if not I can fax you a copy, however this matter is dealt with and record in the transcripts, when Mr Alfred Fenech ( par. 13 ) stated at three separate sittings of the Board that based on the report of Rodger Wood the plane would be unable to start up and totally incapable of taking off.
Desmond rang home twice on the Saturday from Djerba, the first time in early aflernoon to inform Mandy that he was on his way home ( he was not expected to travel home until the 13th) his second call was around 8:30pm (i.e. 7:30 Malta time) He said there was very bad weather and that he did not expect to fly out until sometime on Sunday. According to Cecilia, Mathew rang home on five occasions on Saturday the last time around 7:30pm Malta time to say he would be stopping over because of bad weather. It is also recorded that he withdrew cash from a hole in the wall at about 9:45pm
The Mayday Alarm was raised at about 6:00am but reports suggest the official operation did not get off the ground until five hours later, the most specific information I have on this matter was given to me by young Philip Bartolo the son of the pilot. He is now deceased (RIP) his badly decomposed body was found in a locked up garage two years after the incident (it was said he was a druggie). However when I spoke with him in November 1996 he said that private fliers in their own planes were the first people in the air in the search and the first planes took off one and a quarter hours after the mayday was broadcast. He explained to me that the planes spread out over the course it was expected his father would fly on his return trip from Djerba they flew at around 500/1000ft into the storm to the general area of the reported crash and they saw and found nothing I recall he repeated what he first said to me when we first spoke on the phone in December 1995, quote, "no one will ever convince me that that plane went down in the water and nothing floated from it”
Don I hope this covers all the points in your e-mail if not send me another and if necessary I can take a run down and bring my main files with me
Cormac.