Excellent post Peter and also some of the other perspectives also.
I myself currently fall into the low hour PPL category, currently doing IMC training with a likelyhood of progressing commercially
An as sad as it may sound
, I'm actually quite facinated by the whole area of incident investigation, TEM and understanding the human element etc.
My take on it is this, with direct refernce to some of the comments/questions raised.
Are commercial pilots/PPL's special
In some ways yes of course we are
but........
I dont think pilots should necessarily be considered a special case when it comes to decision making skills and the ability to be self critical etc, but a "good" pilot does need to posess and to build upon these core skills if he/she wants to maximise their chances of not becoming a statistic.
How? By recoginising your own risk profile in relation to your own experience and currency, and by addressing weaknesses through "training out" some of these risk factors. Treat every flight as a lesson :>) glean knowlege and experience from suitably qualified and experienced sources.
and above all, dont get cocky or assume that because it didnt go wrong when you did "a" this time that it wont go horribly wrong next time when you carry out the same action again perhaps in slightly different conditions. This is basically the "swiss cheese" idea that someone else mentioned above.
Profiling people/making assumptions based on wealth/earnings etc
To be honest I think this idea is far too oversimplified and I certainly would not like to rely on it as a marker of someones capabilities and/or competence as a pilot or even of their general attitude to learning etc.
There are all sorts of people throughout the entire socio-economic spectrum.
In the end being "safe" is about putting as many barriers in place as possiple between you and the numerous different hazards, be that training or equipment.
In summary I do think that attitude is a key factor, being receptive, not overconfident yet decisive and recognising your limitations and strive gaps.This is of course a bit idealistic and I do recognise that for many, cost constraints may limit training and or general currency.
Happy Flighting