"“He was a great guy,” Mueller said. “I never flew with him, so I don’t know his pilot skills.”


That's kind of interesting.  Renting a plane is not like renting a car where you grab the keys and drive off.  A plane's owner always checks out a perspective renter's skills (pattern flight, some touch and goes, etc.) before he lets somebody rent his plane.  This guy must not have a very big rental fleet....less now.  I'd never rent a low wing 50 year old Piper for a circle island sightseeing flight.  No newish high wing Cessna 172s in his fleet?