Methinks that statement about aeroplane being hand flown during final app did not come out of the thin air but rather that it implies that at least DFDR or QAR have been read out, that we'll know in a couple of weeks what was the speed, attitude, configuration and flight path of the aeroplane, what were the engines doing, what was the status of AP/FD/ATHR, what command inputs were made by whom, etc. I've got a hunch that IAW Sturgeon's law, preliminary report (or even more preliminary leaks) will make large part of this thread obsolete. Not all of it, mind you. Wheat to chaff ratio in this thread is unusually high for PPRuNe.
Those statistics worshipers, lumping the Libya together with the rest of the Africa, could do a lot worse then checking here before posting:
ASN's list of aviation safety related occurrences in Libya. While we're at ASN, there's also
similar list for A330.
I have used term "statistics worshipers" advisedly; statistic is a wonderful tool, yet as any tool it has its uses and limitations. Those most loudly piping about the significance of statistics are often unaware of either.