What would you accept as evidence?
Just SLF here but becoming somewhat alarmed by this thread as I don't fly well at the best of times but I have a question for ELAC ...
That statement
"the evidence supporting that a lack of hand flying proficiency is a significant problem does not appear to exist;" begs the question as to what you would accept as examples of such evidence?
Obviously I note your use of the word 'significant' and I'm not offering this as evidence but I think I've read somewhere of a Thomson flight into Bournemouth in 2008 can't find the link right now which was forced to GA after a decay of speed on approach (when the AT dropped out unnoticed??) where hand flying skills certainly seem to have saved the day in a way in which they didn't at Buffalo ... but I do acknowledge I'm not a pilot and writing from a considerable degree of ignorance.