Up linker said
Two big bad crashes have happened relatively recently to modern Boeings when the moving thrust levers did not move, and the crews apparently did not realise it and take appropriate action?
Perhaps the Airbus designers got it right after all when they made the thrust levers non-moving?
One of those crashes involved a Capt converting from an Airbus. He didn't even bother doing anything with the thrust levers. Admittedly Autothrottle makes you lazy if you let it.
I think an issue we have these days is pilots who rely on protections or the automation to get them out of trouble. Most people I know that had flown aircraft that were totally manual or had only basic automation never get anywhere near a flight regime that will trigger a protection unless they have severely cocked it up. Recent accidents and incidents suggest that pilots who have only flown fly-by wire aircraft are allowing themselves to get into undesirable states knowing the protection is there to save them..... Until it doesn't.
At the end of the day the automation may or may not be intuitive, but the pilot certainly needs to be.