Well, planes fall out of the sky all the time. That's why they call it the "final approach." Just they fall in a more controlled manner. The issue here as I read it, is that Boeing took some shortcuts and the FAA turned a blind eye to them, plus not requiring Boeing to train the pilots of the airlines they sold the plane to, as Boeing stated that the system was similar to the previous versions of the 737. Maybe skipping the pilot training to save costs was an airline issue, maybe not. In this age of deregulation, it's hard to trust the regulators. This is one area where it would be necessary to have an independant body of experts review the issues, including both the software and the design issues, as having the industry regulate itself in this area is a recipe for more disasters.

I remember the days of wind shear crashes in the Midwest and TX, and we still have these issues-wind shears of course- fewer crashes with the training of piolts on wind shear avoidance and procedures, though I do remember one aborted approach by a USAir plene at PIT, and the co-pilot who got off right in front of me saying that was the scariest flight he's ever been on.