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A comment on Boeing 737 Max pilots complained to feds for months about suspected safety flaw. Parent comment

Re:Boeing 737 Max pilots complained to feds for months about... by stephenrcastle on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @07:53PM (#19385205)
A key question is whether the plane's advanced flight management system -- the autopilot -- might have played a role in the most recent crash as it did in the fatal crash of an Indonesian Airlines 737 MAX 8 last October. In that crash, it appears the pilots failed to disengage the autopilot when the plane's nose began pitching up and down,
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Re:Boeing 737 Max pilots complained to feds for months about... by myth2018 on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @08:37PM (#19385447)
No.. this is not about the autopilot. The suspicion (which is only a suspicion so far) is about another system called MCAS. Roughly speaking (specially because I have not enough knowledge to speak on this regard with confidence), this is meant to help pilots prevent a stall.

The MAX family has more powerful engines, and they are a bit projected ahead under the wings. This makes the plane susceptible to point its nose up during full throttle, which could lead to a stall.

This system shouldn't be confused with the regular autopilot. It plays a completely different role and, the way it's designed, it should engage only under very specific conditions.

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