PLT OF A CESSNA 340 INADVERTENTLY FLEW AN IFR PART 91 FLT WHEN HIS INST RATING PRIVILEGES HAD BEEN SUSPENDED DUE TO FAILING A PART 135 INST PROFICIENCY CHK RIDE.

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ON JUN/XA/01 AT XA00 I DEPARTED ON A PART 91 FLT. WX CONDITIONS AT TIME OF BRIEFING WAS VFR WITH FORECASTS FOR POSSIBLE IFR WITH LAYERS ENRTE. WX CONDITIONS LOWERED AT TIME OF DEP TO VFR MINIMUMS. I DEPARTED INTO THESE CONDITIONS ON AN IFR FLT PLAN. I AM AN ACTIVE IFR PLT BUT HAD RECENTLY TAKEN A PART 135 IFR PROFICIENCY RIDE WITH FAA INSPECTOR AND HAD BEEN DISAPPROVED DUE TO A MISSED APCH AND HOLDING PROC PROB. MY BELIEF WAS THAT I WAS STILL ABLE TO FLY PART 91 IFR. UPON LNDG I SPOKE WITH FELLOW PLTS AND WAS ADVISED THAT THEIR BELIEF WAS THAT MY IFR PRIVILEGES WERE SUSPENDED FOR BOTH PART 135 AND PART 91 IFR FLYING DUE TO THE DISAPPROVED CHK RIDE. FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH MANY OTHER PLTS FOUND A SPLIT OPINION ON WHETHER IFR PART 91 IS POSSIBLE. I DID NOT FLY PART 91 IFR AFTER THAT FLT UNTIL THIS MATTER CAN BE RESOLVED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THAT HE WAS STILL CONFUSED REGARDING HIS LEGAL STATUS FOR TAKING THE IFR FLT AFTER HE HAD FAILED THE PART 135 IFR PROFICIENCY TEST. THEREFORE; IT WAS EXPLAINED THAT THE PART 135 PROFICIENCY TEST FAILURE DID AUTOMATICALLY SUSPEND ALL OF HIS INST RATING PRIVILEGES. HE FURTHER ADVISED THAT HE HAD SINCE RETAKEN AND PASSED THE PROFICIENCY TEST SO THAT HE WAS LEGAL AND CURRENT FOR INST FLTS.