Pilot A may just scrape through the system …pilot A drives one into a mountain.”
If pilot A made it through the system and then crashed into a mountain, don’t you think there is a regulatory issue at play. Why would he crash into a mountain if he “made it through the system”?
Because the 'pass mark' is (say) 80%. Sometimes, though very rarely like the Hudson prang, events require you to demonstrate that you're capable of 90% plus or you die. If you only ever accept those that got 80-81%- perhaps because those who got 98% went to a better paying gig- then you WILL eventually face a day where the numbers catch you out.