Larry Dighera wrote:

Well...no, not really. Rather: the IA rating isn't really relevant.

Personally, I believe that an instrument rated pilot is more
experienced, professional, and careful than a pilot lacking an
instrument rating. I would generally expect the competence of an
instrument rated pilot to exceed that of a pilot without without an
instrument rating, thus the reason for my comment.

Laugh I used to think that. Then I got the rating. If *I* could get
it...

More seriously: the skills acquired for the IA rating aren't generally
applicable to what this fellow was doing. Perhaps he could hold altitude
or heading more tightly than a newly minted PPL, but that's about all.

Ah...perhaps one more item. Depending upon where he did his PPL, the IA
might also bring with it more comfort in dealing with TRACON, Center, and
such. But assuming he did his PPL around here (I'm also in the Newark
Metro area), he'd already have to be comfortable with ATC.

[...]
And he wasn't lost when he circled the statue. I'm not sure that this is
relevant, mind you. But he did find the statue. So...was he really
"lost"? Or did he misread the TAC?

We all have bad days, I suppose.

Well...if he were unfamiliar with the area, I'd agree. But if he's been
flying out of Republic for any length of time, "bad day" really doesn't
cover it. I mean, it's not like he misread a 1100' floor for a 1500'
floor, or something "small" like that.

[Then again, perhaps that is what occurred.]

Yes, of course people do make mistakes. And it's nice that this one didn't
kill anyone, which isn't always the case in this business. But I'm most
put out by the response to this "mistake" by some public officials.

- Andrew