The reason for fast declining handling skills is simple. It starts from the first simulator session on the pilots first jet transport, although one could also argue the flying schools have a lot to answer for.
For example one major flying school in Australia operating the Cessna 172 and specialising in training students whose wealthy parents are funding their kid in the hope he will become a future airline pilot, now has lengthy checklists out of all proportion to the complexity (?) of a C172 with the student as Pilot Flying (PF) and his instructor as Pilot Monitoring (PM). How bloody sad is that sort of rubbish taught to a student who hasn't even gone solo.
Back to the first simulator session. From talking to countless airline pilots over the past 20 years, I have discovered that almost all started their first jet type rating training in the simulator with flight directors, autothrottles, FMC button pounding and of course the autopilot, ALL ON.
They had never flown a jet for Christ's sake but were up to their ears in automatics right from the start. The priority is all wrong. Is it any wonder that once these pilots are in the real aircraft, manual flying becomes not only something to be avoided, especially in IMC - but is regarded as almost lethal.
Someone said "Technology should be seen as an adjunct to commonsense or learned intelligence, not as an alternative." I'll go along with that.
Until simulator instructors start teaching new pilots - especially the straight into the right hand seat (second in command) cadets, how to fly raw data on instruments to a high standard - before gradually introducing the automatic features, then accidents of the Beirut variety will continue to be inevitable
Last edited by Centaurus; 25th Mar 2012 at 00:48.