[AndyJWest]

The whole series of events does seem to indicate that modern 'pilots' may manage to qualify without actually understanding even basic aerodynamics. Of course, most of the time, the airlines would rather leave the flying to the autopilot, which can probably squeeze out the last half-percent of fuel economy better than any human pilot. And when it goes wrong, they blame 'human error', and automate even more. Instead, we have to rely on software, which as everyone knows is entirely reliable, bug free, and guaranteed to deliver as advertised...