Very nice summary, Wolf-man.
I used to call them "mechanics", but "plumber" works as well.
My friends and I that survived twenty + years flying fighters had the combination of mental abilities, being able to think ahead of the jet, and decent hand-eye coordination. The mental component always seemed to me to be slightly more important than the Chuck Yeager "hands". But being able to fly the plane without thinking allowed folks like me to use what little smarts I had to survive and not become a smoking hole in the desert, or jungle, or a half mile short of the runway.
I soloed many troops that had marginal "hands", but they could think ahead and even if they couldn't hold speed within a knot or descent rate within 50 feet per minute, they were "safe" and effective and survived. 'nuff philosophy for now. But.....
"luck" is when preparation meets opportunity. I didn't see that on the part of the AF crew that dark night.