Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
The Big Question is: What caused a proficient instrument pilot to screw up what "should" have been a relatively simple climb-to-VFR through a thin layer?.
The only true test of proficiency is flying in actual cloud. Which if reports attributed to pilot colleagues suggesting the accident pilot had never flown in a cloud, means previous assessments of his proficiency might not have been a valid assessment of real IMC skills. I've seen for myself first hand, newly minted IFR pilots arriving on the job site and within seconds of poking the clouds for real the first time they end up almost upside down within 30 seconds.