“Claims that watching manual flying increases the other pilots work load to an intolerable amount leading to a flight safety problem on the flight deck, is really laughable”.
Perhaps no so, either manual or auto flight, over a short but important timescales, and in specific situations; everything in context. There are good examples in the BEA AGASA study.
Note the similarities (not the speculative details) between Asiana and THY AMS. Training in a complex ATC/approach scenario, weaknesses in automation design; perhaps insufficient spare mental capacity to understand the developing hazardous situation, minds focussed elsewhere. Does industry have too high an expectation that monitoring / CRM will provide a safety defence in every situation.
These accidents involve aspects far greater than individual behaviour, we should consider all humans' behaviour in the more unusual / demanding ‘normal’ situations.
In the context of this thread this statement reads like a notion for the future three man cockpit. The third guy/gal being a shrink to monitor the crew.