What about the BCAL 707 which had an explosion in the wheel bay 2 hours after take off from Rio. The captain was on his first unmonitored flight on the type after conversion training. The entire wheel bay was destroyed by the explosion (caused by a metal fragment penetrating the tyre) There were no hydraulics and seriously degraded electrics. It was just his skill and experience that enabled the aircraft to land safely back at Rio. It took six weeks to repair the aircraft.
What about the BCALVC10 that hit turbulence over the Andes and dropped 19,000 feet. The captain was injured and the first officer had to recover the aircraft when it eventually hit air again.
What about the Air Europe 737 which went through a hailstorm betwen Skiathos and Salonika and had a double engine failure? There was nothing in the Boeing manual about whatt to do in such circumstances. Fortunately the Captain had been an RAF test pilot. He applied exactly the same drills that applied on the Canberra. The aircraft landed safely at Salonika but it was badly damaged by the hail. The wing leading edges had to be replaced, so did the leading edge of the tail and the radome.
Will these very skillful people have an obituary in the Telegraph? They certainly deserve one for saving the lives of hundreds of people.
What they all had was very good basic flying skills. Nothing to do with computers. They just knew how to fly safely.