Xeque: BA fly a monitored approach. It was the FOs sector, so the Captain flew the approach for him. The FO took control at 750'. Now normally what would happen, the FO (in this instance) would have disconnected the autopilot, and continued to do a manual landing. What follows is conjecture, but it is a fair bet to say that, as the AT failed to respond, and the situation unfolded. Both pilots would have looked inside and gone "WTF". Best decision was, I would hazard to leave the autopilot in and try and work out what the hell was going on. During this small window a decision was made to retract the flap one stage. That saved the day. As the speed decayed the A/P disconnected, and they hit the ground.
Would hand flying a "fly by wire" aeroplane helped in these circumstances? No idea. Those who have tried it in the sim would suggest that they made the best of what they were presented with.
It is important to remember that they first had to notice the problem. Then they had to diagnose it, then they had decide what to do. All close to the ground in circumstances they would never have seen before, and never have been trained for. That they made the crucial decision to retract the flap that saved the day cannot be under emphasised.
What I do know is that, God forbid, If I am ever presented with something so unusual in such a parlous position, I can find it within me to do as well as those guys did.
/respect