> But what seems clear is that the moment that the pilot turned off auto-pilot, the flight was doomed to crash as the auto-throttle was not in the right mode for landing.

I think that puts the emphasis in the wrong place. It's true that the flight was probably doomed the moment the autopilot was turned off, but it's not because the auto-throttle was in the wrong mode. It's because the pilots apparently didn't actually know the basics of how to fly an airplane.

> The inability to hand fly an airliner, is a disqualifier to be a professional pilot.

Not in Korea, apparently.