You simply cannot escape the fact that an airliner, despite what the average SLF is made to think, is in fact a big complicated aeroplane that operates in a hostile environment and is at the mercy of the whims of nature at times. You still needs pilots who can fly the thing. Otherwise all you would need is for the senior cabin crew member to type in the destination and push the big green button marked GO!
I think the above is a quite relevant quote - and eventually that said scenario will indeed be the case, but as today the technology does not afford the manufacturers (Sperry, Honeywell, etc...) the impregnability they require, you will always need a pilot to pin the blame on - not to be too blunt... The more experience the better obviously, but not to say that focussed training is a bad thing. It seems that the legislative requirements that tie a MPL licencee to a particular type/airline's procedures is the Achilles heel of the entire concept. Just what was it intended to accomplish viv-a-vis the traditional CPL/IR license? It appears that a minimal savings in flight time at the expense of maximal classroom/sim time is intended to suffice for a small increment in flight time, at the tremendous cost of flexibility on the part of the licensee.
Seems only well thoguht out if viewed from the perspective of a sponsoring carrier. Otherwise pretty dodgy.