Not only did the cockpit voice recorder capture the chatter of the crew at a critical time of flight, the subject of their conversation was as indicting as it was sad. The subject was their inexperience and lack of training.

Training, oversight, crew rest, flying sick, cockpit discipline, experience and basic aviation skills will all be addressed and it will not be pretty. Suffice it to say you get what you pay for.

With thousands of pilots on furlough it seems counter intuitive to say a shortage is coming. However the numbers are clear, and show a steep decline in commercial pilot licenses from 1990 to 2007 (last year FAA data is available). So the question is who will fly the airliners of tomorrow?

Is the F-35 the Holy Grail of tactical aircraft design? An aircraft that can do all missions for all services from a single platform, or is it the latest example of engineers trying to put ten pounds in a five pound bag?