What people don't realize when they see that so and so pilot has 2200 or 4400 hours of flight experience, is that essentially means that the pilot is still a noob. I would even go as far to say that a pilot with 20,000 hours of flight experience is still an intermediate. Very experienced but not quite veteran or senior level.
You know who I wouldn't consider noobs at their profession? Veteran truck drivers. Think about it. They're constantly on the road 1500-1900 hours a year. Since most of them are 40-60+ years old. A lot of them have 30,000 to 38,000+ hours of experience in their belt. They've seen all kinds of shit and experienced all kinds of close calls. So they know what to look out for and have an intuitive sense for accidents/disaster.
Do you know how many forklift drivers or construction workers there are in this country who follow OSHA rules yet still get into accidents? They follow them yet tragedy still happens because they don't have the experience to sense, identify, and avoid accidents.
You get into a cab, bus, or airplane with a noob driver/pilot and you're risking a lot.
Then again, you risk everything by just walking on the sidewalk with your earbuds on.
Thats life.
