misd-again : agreed and your advice already well articulated on the Middle East Forum regarding the same subject. The real problem here is one I fear will never be addressed and rectified..
All singing, dancing, high-tech , Fly By Wire, Fadec engines, etc etc etc were bought or leased by the Bean Counter Department. They insisted to the Flt Ops Dept that the aircraft should be operated, at all times, in accordance with the high tech facilities as this ensured incredible fuel savings based on optimal, computerised predictions. The Flt Ops dept had no option (Arse covering) but to bow to commercial pressure and, in turn, increasingly, were peopled by the new breed of computer loving nerds who relished consulting home computers before even getting out of bed !
We, ordinary, every day line jocks were forced to resolve everything, heads down, through the damned computer. Airmanship went out of the window as, in busy airspace, we were encouraged to look down at the FMC instead of look up out of the window.
Like many contributors on this subject, I too, am old school. Well trained in good old techniques of piloting and airmanship. As the automatics were introduced and built up, the notion was always the same ; if you don't like what is going on, knock it all out & fly it like an ordinary aeroplane . Airbus even fooled us into thinking that we were doing that with sidesticks linked to multiple FCC's and dummy throttles (called thrust selector levers clicked into idents ) . Boeing even fooled us because they. made the all singing, dancing 777 look and feel like other Boeings . No fool like an old fool but I too was blind sided ! So. knocking it all out and "flying" it like before was frowned on.
Again, being trained on to a new all singing dancing type by a great believer in TOTAL faith in the computer systems , I was pushed into a tricky sim situation where I did the unthinkable. Overwhelmed with modern tech, I just "knocked it all out" and hand flew the daft scenario where I successfully pulled off an engine out, max X-wind , multiple failure scenario on limiting runway. I was told " Nice piece of flying but "..........yeah, all together now..........." that's not how we do it" ! Back to Ground school for "refresher Training". I think the Chinese call it "Re-education".
Until we get back to old school basic pilot training (yes, teach the newbees stalling, spinning, recovery from unusual attitudes, AIRMANSHIP, etc, etc, etc, ) and encourage fall back to high standards of hand flying , we will have more incidents like the ones currently being reported. Remember, many are not reported.
ASR's ? Don't make me laugh. I often thought that one paper basket in my last Fleet Office should have been labled......."ASR's". That is where most wound up.