The future - is it here?
Could / can / will something alike this ever happen in a FAA / EU based cockpit?
Are our training standards really up to par?
I have for example personally dealt with several student pilots who come back from Spain based FTOs with fresh IRME ratings. Now they want their CPL, but they can't fly. They can't take a VOR bearing and they cant fly attitude based flying, but merely re-act rather than pro-act. Basic flying skills are generally not up to par in my opinion.
Yet, they still have a JAR IRME just as valid as mine.
My personal opinion is that the bar is set too low and that schools/examinors are letting through people that should have been stopped.
Some of these guys WILL slip through again into bigger planes and they WILL someday cause bigger incidences.