Originally Posted by BRE
MCAS sounds a lot like Airbus Normal Law, specifically pitch control and alpha protection. How does the Boeing implementation differ?
Sorry mate, this is like comparing apples with oranges; as others have stated above, Airbus design is a full FBW aircraft with full flight control computers and triple redudancy; while this kind of arrangement is not fail proof, unfortunately, it provides a far better design resilience and robustiness as compared to that incorporated in the B 737 MAX. The less sophisticated Airbus FBW design is the A 320, but also on this aircraft if you lose one system, nothing happens; if you lose two systems of the same kind, the aircraft goes in a degraded flight control law (normally alternate law, in few cases directly in direct law). Flying the two degraded flight controls laws it is not a big handling problem: problems arise from the kind of failures affecting the flights (i.e. degradeg flight controls). For example, losing two radioaltimeters bring the aircraft to revert in direct law from normal law at landing gear extension but, providing that a full approach briefing covering the penalties and performances issues has been done, to fly the aircraft it is a piece of cake..
Very sad for this accident and for the lives lost, and my thinking goes to the professional fellows pilots involved: we, as professional pilots, know very well that we are paid for the increasing flight safety that our skills can provide to the system.
Happy landings.