A safe pilot is one who always plans to operate within his and the aircrafts envelope
Yes, but that requires the pilot to recognise his limits.
However, a safer pilot is one who is the best skilled at securing a safe outcome from an in flight emergency - my point is that an emergency usually ends up with the aircraft close to the limits of its envelope some while before the impact - at that point their is no substitute for handling skills.
No. A safer pilot is one who recognised and understood his limits whilst still on the ground and didn't take off into testing weather in the first place. The aircraft will only end up close to its limits if the initial decisions were wrong. Once airborne a current experienced IR pilot will break the chain of events that lead to a disastrous outcome earlier, thus not getting into a situation that requires higher skills. Lets face it, if that pilot took off into bad weather whilst not current, or overestimated his ability to cope with the conditions then it is unlikely they are also going to be a current aerobatic pilot who can recognise the magnitude of the situation before the crash into the hill.
As the saying goes - it is better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground.