An appallingly bad stude from the sand pit was nearly at the end of his 100hr course at a top UK flight school. He was finally (but only just) capable of a simple solo X country, immediately after a dual check, of course... This guy was BAD!
He just disappeared. Panic soon set in, given his flying abilities, and a search mission was sent to fly the route to look for him. He was eventually found, with his helo intact, picnicking at the side of a lake where one of his pals was having an afternoon's waterskiing. Apparently he was too dim to realize that his failure to return would be noticed!
And from the plank side, a very experienced ex US Navy pilot with lots of civil time (inc helo) once scoffed at me for weighing cargo. He said, "What the **** are you wasting time on that for, just put it in until the tail scrapes, then take a bit out! If you can shut the door it will fly!"
He was regularly overloading an 8000lb aeroplane by 5-600lbs...
Or the CHIEF INSTRUCTOR of a UK airline now defunct who told a new FO not to bother with the SID as cleared, but just go direct to ABC, and flew right through the XYZ hold that the SID was there to avoid...There are plenty more about that particular imbecile.