BEagle said,
The AF447 event was probably just the tip of a frightening iceberg, involving selection, training and SOPs. AF have had some spectacularly bad accidents in recent years (Concorde, A330, A340) - is there a clue here?
There sure is, but just to keep the record straight, I doubt that
any pilot, no matter how competent, could have recovered from the Concorde situation. Right?....
As to (Plectron):
I have commented at length on PPRuNe about the sorry state of affairs with the 300 hour total time copilot making Captain in 10 years or less after flying 1 or 2 long-haul legs a month on the autopilot. Companies choosing cadets on every hiring profile point except aviation aptitude, problem solving, and experience.
Yes, quite. I realize there's a "pilot shortage," but I'd like to see, besides exponentially better training, an IQ test as a requirement. There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there aren't any old,
stupid
pilots!
<BOOM, CRASH>