If anyone wonders why 777 pilots' basic hand flying skills are not to a high standard consider the following when manually flying the 777.
1) When you put on power there is no pitch up couple, this is taken out automatically
2) The autothrottle is always engaged and pilots are not allowed to disconnect it. This destroys the basic instinct of taking off or putting on power when levelling off after a climb or descent.
3) If there is an engine failure rudder is applied automatically.
4) Pilots are encouraged to use a flight path vector which makes flying manually a bit easier.
5) There is no pitch change when gear or flap is selected.
6) If you overbank then the automatics chip in and roll the wings back towards level.
7) When you roll into a turn there is no need to apply back elevator pressure.
The only time 777 pilots genuinely hand fly the aircraft is when it is in "Direct Mode". This takes out all the aids mentioned above apart from the autothrottle. However this is only ever practiced in a simulator.
As 777 sectors are typically 8 hours long or more, and are frequently overnight, hand flying in to a busy airport is not recommended. The fatigue factor which the Asiana pilots undoubtedly experienced has not been discussed much and I believe it would have been a significant factor. Although I frequently hand fly the 777 I strenuously avoid it after overnight flights apart from disconnecting the autopilot below 1000 feet and hand flying the remainder of the approach to landing.
In no way am I saying that what happened in SFO was anything other than pilot error, but I am just explaining to those who have not flown a 777 how it has been made relatively easy to hand fly using artificial means, but consequently basic flying skills can be eroded by those same artificial means.
Does anyone remember the SAS DC10 accident at JFK about 1984 when it overran into the water? I seem to remember over reliance on the autothrottle system was cited as a cause.