SLF for many years starting in the 60s. I always had confidence that the guys up front had, at the very least, the necessary stick & rudder flying skills. It didn't prevent accidents but, arguably, their skills avoided many more. I honestly have to say that these days I'm a lot more concerned about who is on the FD than I ever was before. Many of the above comments from professionals, such as Dropp the Pilot and others, echo what I have felt for some time simply after reading official accident and incident reports. I'm very selective about which carriers I fly with but there are no guarantees!