Lord Spandex Masher. Generally that's a useful idea, the looking at things. But not all stressed people perform all the usual steps, as in this case. A very good design would eliminate such areas of tactile ambiguity.
The pilot seat occupier in this case needed quick assistance, not quick and unexpected yaw. I'll bet he didn't have an extra three seconds to look for the knob given the gyrations of the aeroplane.