Earlier quoted context omitted.
A few thoughts here, responding to a comment where nearly all of the facts stated are wrong and/or ignorant. Caveat 1: I'm not an aviation lawyer, or indeed licensed to practice law of any kind. Caveat 2: I am a licensed rotorcraft PPL, certified to fly helicopters non-commercially so I have a marginal amount of study of the FAR/AIM. Now, some background. There are three primary ways to accomplish a flight: A) Part 9…
Thanks for the correction on part 135 vs 131. I see your point but a perfect safety record doesn't preclude overreacting to fairly minor infractions. I would be interested to know exactly what model of plane they we're flying with a student pilot in the right seat.
But is it overreacting?
All systems of regulations are imperfect, but FAA regulations are the product of decades of work by very, very smart people. As a whole, FAA regulations are hugely concerned with what seem like 'minor infractions' because 'minor infractions' are often enough to start a chain of events that leads to major accidents. This is especially true as experience increases because experienced people are so much less likely to make major mistakes that they have to be concerned with the small chinks in the armor of safety.