Let's not get drawn into who is the better applicant or pilot: military vs GA, or whether highly sophisticated aircraft produced by Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, (soon to be) Chinese Comac, etc, etc.... provide the gap of hand flown NDB sector entry approaches and raw data IF skills so they are no longer needed (cause when the crap hits the fan, these skills are required!).
CRM? How can you create a safe cockpit authority gradient of a Capt with, say 15000 hrs is working with an FO of 200 hrs? (I'm not saying it can't be done, but the theme of this thread is that such needs are dying!)
What we are talking about is the systemic and what's more DELIBERATE dumbing down of the profession. This is achieved in the deliberate hiring of less and less experienced pilots, ignoring the pools of applicants ready but not willing to work for unrealistic and insulting salaries.
Some comment that if the pilot passes the regulatory body's and airlines' checks then that should be enough. I used to be believe the same until I ventured into the contract world of other (ICAO) airlines....so please comment on this
reality:
Rajasthan: Fraud pilots busted: Nation : India Today
Now, there are other such examples in western nations as well.....
So, let's NOT just look at the act, look at the SYSTEM that allowed such things to occur. How did a child of 22 hours pass his 73NG rating, route checks, line checks, etc? Those who signed off on all these so called checks should have their licenses stripped!
While the crew of QF32 were nothing short of exemplary, really in my opinion they only did what they were trained to do and their experience dictated. Like Sully and Skiles: they did the same. So, are those skills dying / in decline today? Again, YES from my recent experience. And deliberately so.
Please read the following from QF's LCC Jetstar (JQ): 100% owned by QF:
Fasten your seatbelts
The author (FO Joseph Eakins) was sacked for what he wrote. Good news is the unions are supporting his reinstatement aggressively.
Airlines wish to replace experience with self trained cadets. Where experience lacks training MUST replace it, as best possible (!!). Yet again, we see from evidence presented that such training is ignored, skipped around and or fraudulently completed to race a low cost and dangerous backside into low cost and dangerous seat.
Pilot shortage? Usually when a resource becomes scarce the value of it goes up, however we are seeing the complete opposite in aviation.