An alert pilot is not startled, surprised maybe, but not 'startled'.
However, it makes no difference the circumstances of cognition: if a pilot is confronted with a situation he/she has never experienced, the foundation for recovery is in a part of the brain that is not wired for a solution. I do not include simulation as training...
This is the foundation of the negligence exhibited by Airbus! And Air France.
UAS cannot be merely discussed, and passed along to pilots who have not flown it.