good post by Bula:
There have been plenty of accidents involving both types: FBW or otherwise. It's useless and completely oblivious to endorse that one system is less falible then another
Its the complication of the Airbus flight control systems which bambuzles people and that why people don't like it.. there is no off button. Just remember that if a protection is playing up, its good to know what computer drives what protection
Anything can go wrong. Cables, hydraulic actuators or lines, wires and computers. A broken hydraulic line leaves a computer in a bad place trying to actuate whatever surface, just as a jammed jackscrew withstands any physical pulling by its cable or motor. There’s no such thing as an absolutely failsafe system, therefore none seems definitely better than the other.
When you end up in a critical situation close to ground, having very little time to react, the taking manual, pulling up and shoving the levers full forward is the fastest and most instinctive way to get out. It might not be the most elegant, but once safe you regain time and can then sort out how to get back to a more comfortable state. I like the possibility of intervention in this manner.
If the system might not react in such a situation, you have to do the sorting out first and switch off some things, as to be able to get the desired reaction. However, when the surprise is huge, the scare is enormous, I tend to have a slower thinking processor and even with adequate knowledge of the system, I think I am too slow for a precise analysis and switching close to ground.
Having experienced some critical situations in my career, I prefer the earlier solution.