if the pilot in question had been better trained, better supervised by the FTO which hired out the aeroplane or if he had just applied a little common sense.
The FTO where the pilot learned to fly, the outfit renting him the aeroplane (where he probably did a check ride) and the examiner who last signed his licence obviously all thought he was trained well enough. As a licence holder you are accountable for you own decisions and should not expect to be "spoon fed" or abide by the descisions of an organisation when they tell you "it's ok to go, the ops clerk says so".