PJ2 - Thank you for your remarks. Could you please tell me the Post # referring to 'moving throttles'. Don't recall talking about them, especially with regard to the DC-8. Are you talking about auto throttles? We never had them on any model that I ever flew.
You're right about cockpit discipline. My contention is that the more automation there is, the more the pilots now-a-days rely on it and don't know what to do when it malfunctions and have forgotten how to "fly" an airplane. That coupled with having their heads inside and low pay and all the other things wrong these days, just leads to unfortunate results.
When those within the industry and those close to the Habsheim accident all agree with the report and how it was handled, I tend to go along with it even though "pilot error" probably played a big part. I've always thought it stupid to do these maneuvers in jet transports anyway. That's not what they were designed for.
BTW, I never had a problem with the 'short' 8 or the 'long' ones either. And, 'steam' gauges didn't kill anyone! Misreading perhaps, but that's a pilot thing, right? Being as how that's the only gauges I ever flew, I never had any trouble reading them for thirty years.
And while this accident doesn't invole a FBW aircraft, I don't think I ever said that they were "difficult or obscure" to fly. I'm sure they (FBW) fly just fine. It's when things are not normal that correcting the issue seems to become a problem.