HarryMann
The key issue was to avoid the stall, after the A/P and A/T disconnection.
But there was still plenty of height to play with in which to recover from this aerodynamic stall, if properly diagnosed and addressed. You can't rely on one pilot up front always having come into civil aviation from a military fast jet background.
JD-EE
Yes, regulations should require some manual flying within the AB flight envelope - as opposed to line pilots having to explain to flight ops why manual flight has taken place. Emergencies such as this are not the time to try out any neglected basic airmanship skills.