3 ms·
And they should have the MCAS rely on two AoA sensors and deactivate when there’s disagreement or perhaps ring a warning. IIRC Southwest Max’s have something li
by thatswrong0 8y ago
And they should have the MCAS rely on two AoA sensors and deactivate when there’s disagreement or perhaps ring a warning. IIRC Southwest Max’s have something like that, but it’s not a factory default (which is astonishing to me)
- outworlder 8y agoSouthwest only has the 'AoA disagree' indicator, for pilot awareness. But it doesn't change the operation of MCAS itself.
- CydeWeys 8y agoIt needs 3 sensors. If there's 2 sensors when you detect disagreement you can't safely do anything, even if it is warranted (e.g. if the AoA data showing 'good' is what's faulty). With 3 sensors you can discard just one bad sensor and continue flying safely, and then repair the broken sensor after the flight. Note that modern aircraft have 3 pitot tubes for precisely this reason. If AoA sensors are going to be so important too, then there also need to be 3 of them.
- thatswrong0 8y agoOh yeah totally agreed, I was just thinking that the 737 MAXs currently only have 2 installed so that’s what they could work with without an even greater retrofit.
- CydeWeys 8y agoWell they're already not flying, likely won't be for many months, and the vast majority of 737 MAXes aren't built yet. Adding another sensor definitely seems like it might be in the cards, if it would help to resolve this issue.