Going back to what stue said.
In my company it's SOP to Disarm speed and not disengage autothrotle when you hand fly the a/c (737 by the way). This allows the autothrottle be available for a go around and it will kick in when you go 5 knots slow. Not pretty but effective. Just remember to keep asking your PNF to keep disarming speed.
It's also quite easy to hit the speed button as it's the only light on the left hand side of the MCP.
Last edited by cortilla; 15th Feb 2010 at 17:27.