Obviously.
That highlights the complacency.
The point is that it would not have mattered if they were automated or hand-flying.
If they failed to do the routine cross-checking that the FAA, their company and their paying passengers require/expect of them, manual flying isn't the issue. Automated approaches aren't the issue.
Failure to crosscheck is failure to crosscheck whether the autopilot or the pilot himself is manipulating the controls.
And, again, to highlight….the automation was OFF in this particular case.
It's really a basic CRM problem involving the multiple aspects of CRM. Loss of situational awareness, leadership, standard operating procedures, automation management (or lack of), decision making…they pretty much lit up the board on CRM failure.
