Guys: I did not say anything about 'bad training'. I intimated that the training was perhaps inadequate, in an overall sense. If you write extensive SOP's based on the use of automatics, and then train the pilots to operate the a/c in that manner, it can not be called 'bad training'. My question is whether these people are being trained as 'pilots' or a/c operators in an automatic mode. I suspect more of the latter than former. My philosophy is that this is fine as long as the pilot is aware of and fully cognisant with the limitations of the automatics and the envelope of the a/c. Thus when the automatics do not function as required, or are not available to accomplish the task, the pilot is fully capable of taking over manually.
It is this closing statement that I put forward for discussion. I wonder if the XAA's are interested in being included. I wonder if the airlines give a toss. If the recent prangs of serviceable a/c over the past 2 years are not a wake up call then I fear for the industry and the old adage of air is the safest way to travel. Sadly, as with most things, when it is noticed they are going awry, things get worse before they get better.