Chronus
I am not suggesting automatic flight control features are a cause of more accidents what iwas trying to say is that it seems that recently most of the accidents that have happened ( and I fully accept that autoflight systems have probably prevented very many more) may be due to nuances/subtlties, call them what you will where some element of autoflight behaviour previously unknown or an ambiguity has been a causal factor in those incidents that have taken place.
Posts on this forum regulary highlight differences in undertanding with what the aircraft will do when button x is pushed pulled or turned in different circumstances. SoI am not criticising the concept or its applciation but it does seem to me that perhaps training lags a little behind reality in developing procedures to ensure that what is supposed to happen really does and how crews can develop motor memory skills and actions that ensure that things like pressing TOGA buttons means the engines spool up and not that they spool up except when condition x is present and in that case they immediately spool down again.
And I would repeat that i am not criticising anyone here especially flight crews who I have the utmost respect for working under pressurised and mentally and physically tiring conditions