But flying for the airlines is not supposed to be an adventure. From takeoff to landing, the autopilots handle the controls. This is routine. In a Boeing as much as an Airbus. And they make better work of it than any pilot can. You’re not supposed to be the blue-eyed hero here. Your job is to make decisions, to stay awake, and to know which buttons to push and when. Your job is to manage the systems.”
Which is all fantastic until they screw up. I have personally saved myself from an autopilot in an airliner trying to kill me twice in five years. Sure they're great most of the time but they are not infallible and need to be monitored. The other issue that really irks me is the way regulators treat automation screw ups. If a pilot tries to spear an airliner into the ground he gets called in for counseling and revaluation. If the automation does it then they just shrug their shoulders. I know of one particular known software issue which should have grounded the fleet until it was fixed but despite being reported the regulator didn't have the courage to do something and take on a manufacturer. They just sat there and watched the reports pile up until 6 months later a software update came out. This in my opinion is why automation is treated with almost God like reverence. If we saw some real data on how many times pilots save the day from automation killing them I think the attitude in the industry might change. However it looks like they are hell bent on proving the hard way why two pilots and good automation is the only real safe option.