Originally Posted by
Derfred
Seriously?
Aircraft is trimming badly forward when you don’t want it to. Try trimming it back then trim cutout. If that doesn’t work then trim cutout anyway. You’re a pilot.
I'm not saying it's a correct argument, personally I don't think you should skip step 2, but I've seen some people arguing that. So there is some confusion about those memory items.
But, in any case, the problem is you have only 5 seconds to use the cutout switches before MCAS does it again. If you delay that by only a few seconds, you end up with an out of trim aircraft. No matter how you look at it, that is not ideal.
And the Ethiopian crew did trim it back partially before using the cutout switches. They probably felt the trim they applied was sufficient to make the aircraft controllable enough at that point, and didn't want to risk applying more with the stick shaker active.
And assuming it's not MCAS, but a regular trim runaway that can't be stopped or reversed with the thumb switches, you will be out of trim after using the cutout switches. Both on the MAX and also on older models. Not easily being able to then correct the trim with the trim wheels in that situation is a big problem.
My point is that, even if you don't skip step 2, and I don't think you should skip it, you can end up in the same situation they did, depending on the type of runaway you are experiencing.