Originally Posted by
172_driver
Ever had the AP disconnect close to DH on an actual CATIII appr? I have. There is a certain startle effect to it and still in the milk, there isn't much visual to go by. It's essential that the crew has the motor skills quick at hand to perform a manual go-around. I again boast that a single channel approach should be standard if the weather is reasonable, as it might be the only real (and I mean real, not simulated) practice you may get at one. One day you might need it.
This discussion will always be there. Automation makes aviation safer, automation dependency makes it less safe. In order to avoid automation dependency, you have to avoid automation. If you only avoid automation when there is no other stressors, it will be less safe when the automation fails when there is..... As a pilot who avoids automation more than most on my fleet, I think if we tried avoiding the kind of accidents like what happened on the MAX by having everyone hand fly to and from TOC/TOD, we would see much better flying skills on average, but more accidents as well.