Actually according to some "not-easy-to-dismiss" sources, had the autopilot been disconnected immediately, and the A/C flown in "longest glide" mode, it would have (barely) made to the runway, and landed almost normally.
Apart from the "not-easy-to-dismiss" sources bit !
I'd say that statement is very easy to make in retrospect, from one's armchair, very, very easy and even then maybe not so accurate, unless
immediate means immediately the engines didn't pick up i.e. how does one know they aren't about to pick-up when they have for every flight one has ever flown before, how long does one wait for an uncertain event... there is little if any training for 'engines not picking up after throttle re-adjustment 720' agl runway ahead' , surely?
Yes, there was luck, and there was also some correct and non-panicky actions taken on the fight deck that ensured BA038 just got over the peri-fence and flared heavily enough with what remaining airspeed it had such that vertical speed at touch-down was low enough to prevent a complete break-up - as we know from Madrid, almost always resulting in fire and fatalaties.
However, I would like to add that I think parading the pilots in front of the press the next day was in extreemly poor taste and judgement... whoever planned that should be fired, they both looked horrified at having to endure that!