It wasn't that long ago, 9 years, that we could all hand fly and an autopilot disconnect was a non event. Now that I have retired I hope things haven't changed much. Pilots need to be in control of their aircraft at all times. Automation is there to assist them, not fly the airplane instead of them. The great pilots I flew with 9 years ago knew how to hand fly. They didn't have a problem so only the new ones with little real hands on experience are the problem. All pilots should be competent at hand flying because your passengers deserve this.