Robert;
The lessons of aviation were first available in 1903 and haven't changed one bit. The currently-very-low fatal accident rate is going to have to climb first, before this industry realizes what it has done in the name of profit and shareholder value, forgetting that it is in the aviation business, not the CEO-wealth-making business.
This industry will not change until it, and it's passengers, begin to comprehend the reasons for the increase in fatal accidents. They are but not limited to, low pay, universally lousy working conditions, zero-security and even less future security, bare-bones training, an enforce/punish/criminally charge crews mentality (but not towards CEOs, senior management or line managers) and SMS where the regulator's responsibility for regulatory compliance and flight safety programs and decisions is being handed over to the airlines' flight operations' line managersf who are also responsible for their organization's commercial priorities.
I have been saying for about a decade now that those with the intelligence, the talent, the will, the discipline, and finally the raw drive that it takes to get into aviation, will take a look at aviation and say to themselves, "No thanks", and take their abilities elsewhere, where the remuneration, job and pension (DC/401k or DB) security, by comparison, more positive and the risk of being fired or jailed for making a mistake is less, while those who have stars in their eyes and a fresh MPL will continue to come.
There aren't, obviously, stark divisions between such phenomenon, no direct causal connections, not 1-for-1 outcomes, but such trends are "stochastic" - random, but with an outcome that is more likely than others. That is what flight safety is all about - the mitigation of stochastic processes, which are not wholly random or by mere chance. Executives demand that both information and justifications for spending be presented in easily-digestible quantatively-packaged bits so they can justify expenditure to the board. Trouble is, how does one quantify the need for programs, resources and expensive people which produce "nothing"? These justifications cannot be power-pointed, so they're always the first to go. I've seen it at my own airline right now and am holding my breath.
The instant I saw anything start to go wrong, I said, "My airplane!"
Perfect. Trouble is, given trends, the occupant of the left seat may not retain that kind of life-saving thinking or experience. When a first year nurse or teach makes more in a year than a seasoned airline pilot it is easy to see what is going to happen to the profession - the factors and the trends are already in place.
I loved the profession and the operation but am glad I'm retired - I see expertise dismissed, concerns such as these poo-poo'd and shareholder value reign over wise counsel.
It is these factors I had in mind when commenting on such operational matters as circling approach and simply hand-flying an airplane even though the automation does as good if not better job. When a circling approach or even a hand-flown approach is counted as a risk, it is time to first become aware of then seriously re-examine the business you're in.