Yes.
Which brings again the question.
What is safe and what is unsafe? And Who decides that?
Safety is rarely an absolute magnitude. My opinion is
- Both automated flight and manual flight are safe enough provided the pilots know both techniques and practice both kinds of flight regularly.
- Automated flight is better understood and is safer if used by a crew skilled in hand flying
And:
- over reliance on automation decreases safety
- losing hand flying skills leads necesarily to automation over reliance
But of course:
- if conditions are such that you have a high workload and you need more percentage of your brain to maintain your situational awareness and to make decisions, donīt be a fool, use the AP!
There are situations when AP is highly advisable. In the rest, hand fly regularly to keep in shape and be safer should an automation malfunction occur the day you are tired and sleepy, in IMC and busy airspace.
That is safer.
If you are a long haul pilot, don't miss an oportunity to hand fly.
If you are a short haul pilot try to hand fly a few times every month, at least. But if you do a lot of hand flying... Don't let that make you forget automation!
Let's not fall in the lawyers trap! Safety is really important for us, isn't it?