Did Boeing screw up? Yes.
Did Lion Air screw up? Yes.
Both are to blame for different things.
Now Fred, in terms of your question about pilots and their training, while I haven't flown a plane before, my dad did. Military(KC-10) and commercial(727, DC10, 757, 767, Super 80). I am listing those different planes to help provide some background information for later on. I also have a friend who is also a pilot too.
Since I wasn't born when my dad started flying commercial, I can't say what he had to go through(it was the 1970s), but I have a friend who more recently went through training(just to get started for a particular company) and it was roughly six months which includes classroom and flight simulator.
For a pilot going from one plane to another like my Dad did(727 to 757/767 before he retired), he spent a month in school which included classroom and flight simulator. This is in addition to training pilots have every 9 or 10 months.
The classroom now might be online, but I will ask my friend about that. I know it wasn't when my Dad was flying, but he got out early 2008 so things have likely changed.
I hope that helps with your questions about pilots and their training Fred.
Since he's just been banned for 60 days he probably doesn't care anymore. I presume you missed the 2 previous posts?
