I don’t know a damn thing about piloting but I do have three in my family: an older brother who flew combat in Vietnam (& I assure you that is not a boast!) & who went to work for an airline when he retired from the military after 20 years; & a niece & her husband who started flying with small commuter airlines after a few years of flight school.

Given the considerable pilot unrest in the past years & what I know from my family members, it seems airlines are attempting to cut costs by hiring what are essentially rookies. I don’t mean to impugn the abilities of my niece & her spouse or for heaven’s sake suggest combat pilots are mentally sound, but I do think the new employment culture at airlines likely played a role in the pilot who just committed suicide & murder. Along with hiring untested rookies for chump change they are probably not screening them sufficiently for mental or physical problems.