I’ve been working in the Air-Taxi business for over 30 years. Most of the companies I’ve worked for hire 500 hour pilots. Today’s 500 hour pilots are much better pilots then the 500 hour pilots of the 80’s. That’s an absolute fact I can prove.
Everyday it is easier and easier to publicize ever little mistake. You make a bad radio call and the ATC is mandated to report it. You ground loop, land with your gear up or do a forced landing and dozens of cameras are capturing it. Chances are if you decide to fly lower in a dense population area and you’ll be on the 6 o’clock news.
A Seaplane landing on the Mississippi is national news and causes anxieties in the public. it’s not the pilots, it’s the nonstop emotional reporting.