Originally Posted by
Machinbird 
...but at Habsheim that day, use of automation seems to have gotten in the way and created a surprise and a delay in adding power.
How so? Bearing in mind they were not using automation at any point during the approach or flypast, nor were they intending to.
I think I need to clarify that there was apparently a mental 'expectation' that Alpha Floor was going to kick in, thus even though he may have forgotten his specific autothrottle configuration, the expectation that it would operate caused confusion and a delay in actually adding power.
The flight plan included complete disabling of A/THR (and thus A. Floor) - that this step of the procedure was forgotten in the event doesn't alter that.
The point is that his point of attempted Alpha Floor activation was not entirely unreasonable from a maneuvering standpoint. It completely failed because he failed to allow for the unexpected non-response.
When maneuvering near the ground, there really isn't much time for goof ups and when doing atypical flying, there is a need for an exceptional level of planning and practice. That was not done in preparation for the Habsheim flight.
While taking into account deceleration and the pitch-up movement from slamming thrust back on? I very much doubt a human pilot could have done better.
Dozy, I'm going to have to tell you to check your 6 'cause you are dealing with a fighter pilot who could lay on extreme g during violent maneuvers without departing the aircraft
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Consider basic servo theory for how quickly the output can match a step input. Remember that a human is a variable gain computer, and although not error free, can error correct once trained in error correction.
A computer must use conservative control strategies since it is supposed to operate independently, thus the asymptotic (essentially an overdamped servo approach) control of AOA.
A human can use a variable gain underdamped approach to a step input and even though they may overshoot the ideal AOA they will correct and arrive at the desired AOA sooner, particularly if there is some sort of feedback mechanism for them to observe (such as mild airflow separation causing a slight vibration.) The key is training and practice.