One thing that is certain about pilots is that we all make mistakes regardless of experience level. The only difference is how we learn from that experience to become better pilots. Most good pilots try to learn from others mistakes. The airline management takes this same approach & will usually share mistakes made from other crews. During annual ground school recurrent training our instructor's will usually compile a list of airline operator's that fly the same aircraft & share any mishaps or incidents involving that aircraft, or important safety bulletins. This is one way to keep us current on past mishaps from other airlines. Another way we control, or reduce pilot mistakes is by using a checklist. Usually before we read the actual checklist we will do a flow. The captain & first officer both have their own flows. Basically how the flow works is we get switches in the proper position with the anticipation of following up with the checklist to verify that everything was done correctly. If we are interrupted on the checklist, we will place the checklist somewhere important as a reminder to finish it. Most crews place it between the throttles or power levers. Another critical thing most airlines implemented to reduce human error was to follow the advice of the FAA & make some changes to the checklist. At my airline we finish the checklist at the gate area before both engines are started. This is an important  safety feature because now both pilots can avoid distractions of having to look down to read a checklist. Instead, both pilots are looking out the window for traffic, & checking systems. Aircraft manufactures have contributed to safety & reduce pilot errors too. In recent years, most new aircraft have important items at eye level in the cockpit  to quickly grab the pilot's attention. This makes sense. I know in the past I flown some airplanes were I had to look down causing a distraction just to turn some switch on. Most people with a fear of flying find it hard to understand what is going on behind the scenes in the cockpit, but there is a reason why airplanes are not dropping out of the sky every night. Safety is not an accident. It has to be practiced.