But fly-by-wire does not preclude the sticks being mechanically or electronically (force-feedback anyone?) linked together. This would seem to me a much better

But fly-by-wire does not preclude the sticks being mechanically or electronically (force-feedback anyone?) linked together. This would seem to me a much better design choice which gives immediate tangible and visual feedback to the other pilot. Instead the whole system relies on the pilots to coordinate using communication and by reading the instruments, which happen on a much higher cognitive level than the tangible input IMO and are hence very hard to maintain under stress - as unfortunately illustrated by this tragedy. Hence I'd say this is much more a design issue than it is pilot error, as both senior pilots were advising the right course but the interface design allowed the inexperienced pilot to silently override control. Yes, this junior pilot probably had too little training and reacted terribly; but what's the point of having multiple pilots if they apparently don't add any additional safety because coordination amongst them has to rely on non-technical means instead of being facilitated by intuitive interface design? Where's the iPhone revolution in planes?