Being able to hand-fly an airliner at high altitude is one thing, coping with emergencies is another. Coping and dealing with emergencies is a large part of the type rating, it is expected that pilots know how to fly and in many cases they are found wanting – this is not a fault of automation but a fault of training and of how pilots are recruited.
Pilots practise landing with minimal instruments and the minimum electrical supplies. That’s what simulators are for after all.
Like others I have no idea what went on in AF447, but blaming the crew seems a cop-out to me. I think it was classic accident with many things seeming to happen together, one of which on its own would not have caused the accident. There seemed to be so many failures such that most if not all crews would have been overwhelmed.
I greatly respect the skill that the crew US Airways 1549 demonstrated but they had the advantage of a nice day and an operational instrument and flight control system.
The problem would be what drills would they practise? Accidents tend to be unique in their circumstances; e.g. who would have thought an A330 could be landed without engine power? Perhaps if the pilot had understood the systems better he wouldn’t have dumped all the fuel overboard.
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