You have it the wrong way around. MCAS is not active while flaps are extended, so not during starts and landings. It is also not enabled while the autopilot is

You have it the wrong way around. MCAS is not active while flaps are extended, so not during starts and landings. It is also not enabled while the autopilot is active, as MCAS isn't balancing the airplane but about giving the right rudder feedback to the pilot when manually piloting the airplane. The accidents happened in normal operations after the flaps were retracted.