Hi Pace,
If I may chime in here, you are absolutely right in what you and JonDyer (great analogy, btw) wrote about pilot error being a catch-all that doesn't provide any meaningful explanation of what caused an accident. This has been widely recognized, and most safety professionals such as accident investigators etc have done away with the term. Unfortunately, it is still at large in media reports. Bottomline: If someone talks about "80% of all accidents are caused by pilot error/human error" or similar, you know he or she doesn't have a clue.
Cheers,
Cpt. S.