Yet he still did the flight.
This statement shows why people like Shell Management should have absolutely NOTHING to do with aviation safety. Ignorant, vindictive, small minded, poisonous little men like this should only get as close as a photograph of an aeroplane to real aviation.
I don't have enough information in the report to even start to understand what happened. But firstly I'd ignore the toxicology - unless the word "may" is replaced by "will" I'll not buy that as anything more than a possible contributory cause. But I'd like more information about how this guy deals with stress. His 'full plate' (admin, examining, teaching, charter, combined with impending action by the FAA and certain personality traits means that he may not be the clearest thinker and have a clear mind (distraction?) just before the accident. Here the important word is 'may'. I'd also like to know how he flew.
With regard to the Feds., they should be able to recognise a 'one-man band' who's bitten off more than they can chew and other such potential problem areas. My limited exposure to these at the local/regional level is that guys have a pretty good feel for what is going on in their neck of the woods. They'll know the personalities, their abilities and one would have thought, their weaknesses. However, no additional information has come from this source. It would be fair to ask why not.
But overall, not unless you can get inside the minds of people like this pilot can we prevent a re-occurrence. Which is after all, what "safety" is all about.
PM