Re:Preliminary conclusion MCAS misfired in Ethiopian's 737 m...
by tzs on Friday March 29, 2019 @01:27PM
(#19523718)
I think the sensors are on the side of the nose, about as far forward as the pilots. It looks like one is on the left and one is on the right.
These things are essentially just wind vanes that read the direction that the air is moving past them.
Short of the plane flying obliquely into a tornado, I can't think of any atmospheric effect that could lead to a disagreement.
You'd need an atmospheric effect that causes a significant difference in wind direction between two points that are maybe 3 m apart and the difference that atmospheric effect is trying to cause would have to be noticeable when superimposed on the wind vector due to the plane's velocity.
These things are essentially just wind vanes that read the direction that the air is moving past them.
Short of the plane flying obliquely into a tornado, I can't think of any atmospheric effect that could lead to a disagreement.
You'd need an atmospheric effect that causes a significant difference in wind direction between two points that are maybe 3 m apart and the difference that atmospheric effect is trying to cause would have to be noticeable when superimposed on the wind vector due to the plane's velocity.