Originally Posted by
wiedehopf
So you won't notice that you can't maintain level flight?
If you can't pull up because the yoke is too heavy you have to use the trim switches.
Or maybe you would not use the trim switches because you are not running a checklist? Seriously?
If the trim switches don't work it's obvious you need to do the Runaway Stabiliser checklist and use manual trim.
You don't even need a checklist for that it's more like switching the autopilot off and flying by hand.
That would apply if you were in the cruise and experienced a trim malfunction. In this case it was an aircraft getting airborne and having the symptoms of UAS. Would you expect the aircraft to be in trim when you’re unsure what speed you’re doing or whether you are speeding up or slowing down? No.
Also, the trim switches were probably working but the system would likely trim back the other way a bit later. Very insidious and difficult to deal with shortly after takeoff, especially as the operation of MCAS was unknown to the pilots...