"Greg Esres" wrote:

How could the NTSB say something that is clearly
explicitly allowed by the FAA is careless.

It's not expressly allowed, it's just not expressly forbidden.

I don't have a strong opinion either for or against their ruling.

If we consider the process carefully, it's really the FAA which makes the
rules and the FAA which enforces the rules. The NTSB is the body to which
we might appeal the FAA's less defensible enforcement actions, but they're
pretty much a rubber stamp for the will of the FAA.

If someone got violated for flying IFR in Class G airspace without a
clearance, it's the FAA that deemed it a violation. The NTSB simply failed
to fight about it with the FAA. The distinction is pedantic, but also
telling.