Originally Posted by directbears

Both of you need to give credit where credit is do to the skilled and experienced pilots that are still out there in the industry.

Sky,
Try selling that statement to the Eagle crew who brought that RJ back in one piece after they lost total control of their rudder which was jammed fully deflected to one side in less than ideal weather conditions or to the United crew who managed to keep enough control of their wounded DC-10 to make a "controlled" crash into Sioux City which saved lives rather than all perishing in some corn field.

robthree,
Mind dead, robotic, checklist only pilots are not the ones that get you out of a mess like the ones I mentioned above. If pilots don't have the skill set and experience to at lease attempt to deal with those types of scenarios then I feel they shouldn't be in the cockpit of an airliner. One paying pax or four hundred paying pax it doesn't matter. Not every emergency scenario is in some memory item or checklist. Not every scenario can be introduced in training. A pilot must draw on the skills that he/she has in order to have a chance of attaining a safe outcome in an unforeseen emergency scenario.