For too long, aircraft manufacturers, in their quest to push the limits of technology and efficiency have forgotten the simple rule of ‘thou shalt fly the airplane’ lest the unwary pilot, enamored by the bells and whistles, be led astray.

Trump was right when he said ‘airplans have become too complex to fly.

Airline management and insurance companies share some blame as today’s aircraft can virtually fly themselves, leaving the younger, less experience crews, to sit on their hands and ‘manage’ the flight with the sophisticated application of ones and zeros through Flight Management Systems and 200-plus computers identifying as an ‘airplane’. Think of self-driving cars in the air and you’ll see where this is going.

This is the price we pay when aircraft are designed to make up for the deficiencies of inexperienced pilots and poor training.

Are we there yet?