Originally Posted by
edmundronald
So above-average pilots would have saved the plane and below average pilots lose it.
Someone may have said this, but that is certainly not my position.
Let me restate it. There are certain expectations of a professional pilot who is entrusted with the lives of their passengers and crew. One of those expectations is that, in the presence of an unexpected aircraft state, they should be able to demonstrate the basic airmanship skills of hand-flying their aircraft by establishing the appropriate attitude and power settings, monitoring aircraft performance (speed, altitude, rate of climb, etc), and keeping the aircraft in proper trim.
This is an expectation for ALL professional pilots. Not above average. Not average. ALL.