'I would assume from that wording, the aircraft or the instructor were restricted to VFR ops (eg aircraft not having suitable equipment or pilot not having a current rating etc)'
Yes I was wondering about that. I flew that particular aircraft a few times (although it was quite a few years ago now) and I seem to remember it as a pretty bog standard Warrior and not equipped for IFR. I guess it could have been upgraded in the years since. Hard to comment on the instructors decision making without knowing all the facts, but from what I've read so far he seems to have done well to extricate them from what could have been a nasty situation. Looking forward to the report coming out by 2024
