Just a thought - as a CRI I can do CRE reasonably easily (in theory anyhow, in practice not so easy I gather): is that route open to an FI?
Yes it is. I hold a CRE and FE and have both FI(A) and CRI(A) SE/ME as ratings. I know of a number of FI(A) with CRE.
The CRE is way more difficult to achieve than the FE because it is meant to be a sponsored industry rating and is assessed by CAA Staff Examiners unlike the FE that can be done by Industry. It is also way more expensive to gain and maintain.
Since they are have been around there has been no indication that accidents have increased, I haven't seen one yet thats been involved in an accident. It would be interesting to know the hours flown as CRI V hours as a FI to see if the statitics back up my feeling that they are at the same risk as FI's who are meant to better trained because they have CPL knowledge.
You invariable find the CRI is done by way more experienced pilots for a specific reason, whereas the FI(A) is done as a stepping stone by very inexperienced pilots. The extra training of the FI largely offsets the lack of experience in my opinion. So I think its a bit if ing/yang!