I will admit that I read the first post and expected to read some Pilots are just miss-understood drivel, but I am very impressed at what is written here.
The latest EASA & FAA number show that accidents are on the rise... and the latest numbers don't cover 2009.
The "difficult" bit to understand about the latest accident stats are that Human-factors (pilot) issues are cropping up more and more & now account for the majority of incidents/accidents.
This is against the current regulatory environment that mandates CRM/Human Factors/SMS etc... which would suggest that our new all-singing-all-saving culture is bollocks.
I have done some work in this area though, and while I appreciate the comments above, and cannot in good faith argue against them, the research I have shows that the majority of Pilots believe that SOP's/CRM/Flight manuals etc are not relevant or do not cover their "job"... but have not made reports to say so... to elaborate further, of the reports made, more than three quarters of them were made by low-time pilots &/or under the age of 35.
I would therefore like to suggest that yes there may be a loss of "basics" but is is at all levels, experienced & in-experianced and that the use of mandatory/company reporting systems etc could contribute to reducing our industries accident statistics.