The answer to that question might seem blindingly obvious when looking at certain accidents, where pilot training has failed to prevent these accidents from happening. Air France 447 and AirAsia 8501–more stall training; Asiana 214–how to land visually in CAVU weather; TransAsia Flight 235–how not to shut down the good engine when one engine fails, and stall training; Phenom 100, Gaithersburg, Md.–stall training; Phenom 300, Blackbushe, UK–airspeed control; Learjet 35A, Nassau, Bahamas–descent below minimum altitude training; GIV, Bedford, Mass.–checklist and adherence to procedures training; Challenger 601-3R, Aspen, Col.–exceeding tailwind limitations, along with external pressures training.

The list goes on and on and does not include the hundreds of light airplane and helicopter accidents that happen every year, in circumstances that never change.

Inevitably, these endless and repetitive lists fuel a constant call for more training, and specifically more training in the deficient area that likely had much to do with the cause of the accident. But is more pilot training the answer? Or is something wrong with the way pilots are currently trained? And if so, what should be done?

There is no shortage of opinions on this subject, and there are plenty of real-world efforts to improve pilot training. This special report examines the situation and some of the efforts that industry has taken to improve pilot training, as well as how the pilot shortage is affecting flight schools.

Whether or not these efforts will lead to improvements in the way pilots are trained is another question, however, because with a looming shortage of pilots, there are doubts about whether increasingly stringent standards will be adhered to. On the other hand, if pilot training isn’t improved, more accidents will happen because more pilots will enter flying careers without a solid foundation of skill. And they won’t become better pilots as they move up the career ladder unless the industry keeps improving pilot training as a career-long process.