The AoA sensor that MCAS uses, as well as the nose pitch monitoring adjustment due to the larger more powerful LEAP engines that causes a pitch up on the nose,

The AoA sensor that MCAS uses, as well as the nose pitch monitoring adjustment due to the larger more powerful LEAP engines that causes a pitch up on the nose, is external and in the front [1][2]. > Stall sensors are common, but the MAX is the only 737 to have a blade-like sensor on the exterior of the plane that can automatically pitch the plane down when it detects stall conditions -- without input any input from the crew [2] Not only is it susceptible to birds but it could be sabotaged as well from the location of it, if I were investigating it I'd check into maintenance/storage/possible sabotage just in case. Since the nose pitch monitoring system and MCAS use the AoA single sensor it is a single point of failure, it also seems like a security issue. About the single sensor and single point of failure[2]: > Boeing's 737 MAX, the model being flown by Indonesia's Lion Air that crashed last October killing all 189 on board, had been criticized for relying on a single sensor to detect the aircraft's angle of attack, according to today's Wall Street Journal. A preliminary investigation by Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) blamed the stall prevention system (known as Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS) which relied on a the single sensor that provided erroneous data, causing the MCAS to misfire, leading to a series of events that put the plane into a nosedive. > After the October crash, Boeing began updating the plane's software so multiple sensors would provide data to the stall prevention system, the company said in a statement on Monday. About the external AoA sensor [1][2]: > The 737 MAX with its larger engines mounted even more forward needed a separate sensor to sense stall, the nose up attitude of a plane that turns off aerodynamic lift over the wings. Stall sensors are common, but the MAX is the only 737 to have a blade-like sensor on the exterior of the plane that can automatically pitch the plane down when it detects stall conditions -- without input any input from the crew --according to Seattle Times veteran aerospace reporter, Dominic Gates, who is close to Renton, Washington where the 737 MAX is assembled. > According to the preliminary report from Indonesia's NTSC and in a Boeing service bulletin, Lion Air flight 610 was providing erroneous data from a angle of attack (AOA) sensor. It appears the crew may have been fighting against: bad sensor data, a multitude of warnings and an automatic flight control system that seemed to be malfunctioning by automatically pushing the nose of the plane down repeatedly during the 11-minute flight. Ground control was contacted numerous times by the crew, who were repeatedly requesting permission to return to the airport. [1] https://i.imgur.com/XTrf6EX.jpg https://i.imgur.com/XTrf6EX.jpg [2] https://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/18734/Breaking-Faulty-Sensor-Data-May-Have-Caused-Boeing-737-MAX-Crashes.aspx https://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDes...