Well, Ignition Override, I cannot argue with much that you say.
Certainly, training today is at a minimum in many companies, and by minimum, I mean the very least that they can get by with, and still satisfy the regulations.
Which sometimes ain't much...that is truly needed.
When I went onto jets for the first time (B707) the program called for thirty two hours of sim followed by 10 hours in the aircraft, as the sim was not approved for many maneuvers then (or now) required.
This was for a direct entry Command, which was my situation at the time...directly into the left seat.
Yes, I was lucky, and the company I was working for at the time needed Captains...pronto.
So, I presented myself at PanAmericans door, and at the end, a new 707 Captain emerged...at age 30.
Then, off to Africa, with old PanAmerican and TWA straight-pipe 707's, Doppler navigation, NDB approaches (no ILS's in sight, except at LIS) and plenty of long flying hours...with minimum rest in between.
Thanks to old line Flight Engineers, I learned from the school of hard knocks, and didn't crash...fortunately.
Then off to bigger and better things.
Always with minimal recurrent training during those years with the charter companies, until moving up the ladder with a large scheduled carrier.
And, when I arrived at that large scheduled carrier, I found that they were precisely interested because of my rather varied experience, and in their opinion of the knowlledge that I could pass along to new First Officers...who, oddly enough, came to the 707 with a total number of flying hours that was less than 300, yet these folks never crashed and went on to become rather senior Captains.
Gosh, what a surprise.
Yet at American Airlines, a very old line company, with several thousand pilots, and a lot of flying experience under their belt, continue to have some very basic errors with their flying procedures, something I would have hoped would have been eradicated long ago.
But it apparently is not to be.
Looking at AA objectively, you gotta admit, something is wrong in Dallas...and it ain't the cowboys.