I have met many old timers in the USA who can fly an aeroplane like it is strapped onto them and into some really amazing places. I wouldn't fly into an unlit airport at night which has mountains next to downwind, mountains next to base and an unlit runway. I chatted to one old timer who used the lights of the gas station, and had done for the past 40 years.
Flying to some of these boys is second nature and they are often better pilots than many "professional" pilots who think they are god's gift.
Well, I have news for you. Flying isn't so much about skill and hand to eye coordination but is more about intellignece and good decision making.
I don't think manual ability had anything to do with this accident or a lot of GA accidents. Last time I checked, continued VFR into IFR conditions was the number one killer of GA planes.
There is a saying, don't know who the author is but it certainly applies here. "Good pilots use exceptional decision making to prevent them from getting into situations which require their exceptional skills to get out of." It is somthing like that, but you get the gist.
I've flown with many pilots who are not the best "manipulators" of the controls, but I would feel 10 times safer in their hands due to their decision making and sound judgement. It's not that both attributes can't co-excist, but I definitely think that decision making is more important.
And by the way, landing at a strip in the mountains at night with only lights from a gas station for guidance is what I would call a "bad decision". That is what the accident report would say if your friend, God forbid, had an accident. I can guarantee you that it would make no mention of the fact that he has done it safely for 40 years. It would probably start off with "The pilot excersised poor judgement blah blah blah"
