maybe tied to a lack of familiarity with flying a big piston, versus a modern jet.
Just because you're a superdooper jet jockey doesn't mean you can fly a vintage airliner
I don't think they were totally clueless!
From an earlier post:
Both have been heavily involved for a number of years with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) south of Sydney. Together, the aircraft they have flown are the DC3, Caribou, Convair 440, Lockheed Super Constellation, Lockheed Neptune, PBY Catalina plus others.
I would be surprised if the copilot had been flying a Convair for the last 2 years if not rated. Plus the upcoming ferry flight to Holland. Just doesn't make sense!