Found this on another forum and I don’t know how accurate the info is...
You do realize the MAX8 was to be given a different type rating but MCAS was the solution to allow Boeing and the carriers to get around that so no new type rating was required for their pilots. Only a couple hours training on the new systems.
The MAX8 flew significantly enough different it was going to be a different type until MCAS was added to make it behave the same. This saved a ton of training and certification costs.
The problem is when in a problem situation and MCAS is disabled the pilots are for all intents and purposes now flying a type they have not been trained on.
If you don't believe me just open your eyes... Many many many pilots are reporting these issues. The FAA anonymous reporting system is full of such complaints.
This was a boondoggle from Boeings and the FAA's side.
.......>>> is one example.
Rather important is that it was in fact considered to have substantially different enough behavior to warrant a required type rating for pilots, obviated due to the software abstraction provided by MCAS. However, this abstraction is effectively disabled when setting stabilizer trim to cutoff which is one of the later steps in the normal troubleshooting sequence. OK? So the airplane is in an emergency situation, with a flight characteristic normalizing software routine disabled, thereby making it possible for the airplane to exhibit the very behavior that pilots were never informed of, never trained for, and not required to have a type rating for, that MCAS existed for in the first place.
I think that's quite a lot more relevant than airline safety records. Ethiopian Airlines has a good recent safety record anyway. And the outcry, upon MCAS being publicly revealed, among the U.S. pilot community I also think demonstrates important relative concern.
And, quite a concerning story about U.S. 737 MAX pilots using the anonymous aviation safety reporting system to communicate their concerns, whether instead of or because of the normal channels for doing so.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/...019/03/12/boei...