I found this interesting

[AirRabbit]

Originally Posted by LookingForAJob

And to point out that any professional in our business who waves the 'safety is THE number one priority' card in anything other than the media circus where soundbites matter, is not living in the real world!

I sincerely understand the point you’re making … but I also think that saying what I’ve quoted, above, is also a bit “over the top.” Safety in operations should be the number 1 priority – and no way should that goal be limited to discussions with, or in, the media. What we have to recognize is that at some point improving the actual “safety” of any function we perform will begin to approach the point where any additional safety (if there is any additional safety that can be achieved) will very likely be so additionally expensive (in terms of money, time, and/or effort) that it is likely to not happen. The significant stand-out exception to this can only be found in training. IF there is found to be an inadequacy in training, I think that most of us would recognize the logic in ensuring that this specific aspect of training is properly and completely addressed. All of us know that downloading real-time data on every commercial flight everywhere in the world – every day – all the time – is not realistically likely, nor would it necessarily be found to provide heretofore hidden information, or information that was not previously recognized as having caused, or contributed to, the absence of, or at least a lessening of, a safe outcome of any specific occurrence. Whereas, adding additional training may or may not be worth the time and effort. Doing the wrong thing in training (training improperly - training incompletely) are examples of wasted time, effort, and (likely) money. On the other hand, ensuring that instructors are trained and knowledgeable about training pilots (without depending on "cheat sheet" or "simulator-only" suggestions for successfully getting through either the training and/or checking) is, in my opinion, one of the most important factors that we can employ to improve safety. And, of course, using training equipment - particularly flight simulators - that are properly designed, built, tested, evaluated, and then used correctly can only help.

But to do this we need to recognize what we ask and expect of the crews that operate these airplanes in terms of what is and what is not a safe course of action. We have to ensure that the procedures we put into our operating plans fit the airplane and the conditions into which we send them. The tasks we put into our training programs should reflect the necessary skills to function under those operating plans and be designed to ensure that the pilots understand what is necessary to control that airplane from the time they sit down at the controls until they get up from those controls. And to provide that assurance, we have to ensure that these pilots LEARN the skill sets, UNDERSTAND the reasoning behind the task, and can actually DELIVER whatever is necessary to properly and safely control that airplane the entire time they occupy that seat. All of this MUST be done while ensuring the highest level of safety is continually at the forefront of what is being done - and if the training is done correctly and completely, should there ever be an actual departure from "normal flight," that pilot should be able to recognize that departure, and know, instantly, what control application is required to minimize that departure and return the airplane to a safe flight condition. We all recognize that error avoidance is easily more preferable than error correction, and that is why the bottom line should be, actually MUST be, proper and complete training of the crew members and their instructors and evaluators.