RotorBoy, I can't see your point of view Re: the Auto.
Astars generally fall out of the sky at a healthy rate of descent when in an auto, this guy seems to be in a fairly level attitude for the first several seconds, it appears to me that it was his controllability that was the issue.
In attacking your thoughts, granted, The camera angle may have made it look like more of a level flight path, and he may have elected to pull off power at some point in the sequence.
My thoughts...T/R is spinning, MR seems to have adequate rpm...gotta be a control problem, either hydraulic or other?
...or as you did say .... Thats not to say it wasn't some wiered jammed pedal senario.
He did a great job under the circumstances...here's hoping for a speedy recovery.