I would suspect that given the circumstances it may have had more to do with an evaluation of "trainability" . . . Let me explain:
A pilot lands 10 inches left of centerline and the examiner scolds and says "good grief I can't believe you just did that!". Does the student pilot scoff at the critic, accept the criticism, ignore the examiner or take the critique in stride and try to do better next time? You said you we testing for a cadet program. I wouldn't be the least surprised if this is what was going on.
I'm a military pilot and very, very early on the examiners and flight instructors will use this technique to gauge how receptive a student is to training. Simply put: are they "trainable"?
With regard to other nation's flying ability I can speak from experience. I currently fly NATO AWACS. Imagine multi-national crews (16+ different sending nations). I've flown with pilots from CAN, US, Bel, DE, ITL, GRC, TUR, NLD, etc . . . Each have their own quirks and traits (as do I) but they're all professionals who are serious and dedicated to what they do. Judge folks on their individual abilities not on their backgrounds or nations . . . Sound advice.
Last edited by ChrisGK; 27th Nov 2012 at 17:48.