3 ms·

>"Wasn't the design sound" What's so sound about a plane that stalls by default?

• gpm 7y ago
  Flip that around, what's unsound with such a design? There are lots of things on planes where "if you don't do this" then "the plane crashes and burns". Having to adjust horizontal stabilizer trim as you gain speed is a minor addition. MCAS was problematic because of how it went about doing so, and how pilots weren't properly trained on the change in how the trim needs to be adjusted. The idea of adjusting the trim doesn't seem fundamentally flawed to me. (Not that I think the design is necessarily sound, see my direct reply to gp for why).
  • stetrain 7y ago
    That's all fine provided the pilots are properly trained. The fundamental sales proposition of the 737 MAX was that your pilots would not need additional training. If the end result is that a new type certification is required for the 737 MAX, it may still be a viable product but not the one customers were originally sold on.