Darrel Toepfer writes:

hehehe, he said "get it right the first time":

It's not hard to get it right the first time. While most people can't fly
airplanes by hand without making mistakes, everyone has pushed buttons, turned
dials, and moved levers countless times in his life, and if he can also
understand and follow instructions, he can land a 747, which requires no more
than the manipulations just mentioned when the automation is used.

The incorrect assumption made by most people is that the non-pilot would be
trying to fly the aircraft by hand. That happens in Hollywood movies, but not
in reality. There would be absolutely no reason to fly the aircraft by hand,
and it would be dangerous without a qualified pilot in charge (and qualified
means on the aircraft in question, not just someone with a PPL).