Originally Posted by
GordonR_Cape
I am not a pilot, but it astonishes me that some well informed members (not just you), can be so fundamentally misinformed about the specific details of MCAS operation. No wonder Boeing didn't try to explain it the first time.
When I first got into this business, our manuals used to be far more detailed. We used to say we could just about build the aircraft with the information they gave us. Nowadays, not so much. Someone decided that we pilots didn’t need all the technical details, but rather only the procedures. I’m not in that camp, but no one asked me. If not for these accidents any information that Boeing would have provided the pilots on MCAS would have been just as generic as the information they currently give us on the Speed Trim and Elevator Feel Systems (both of which are also activated in a stall).
But in regards to MCAS, I will simply repeat that Boeing has provided no information that would lead me to believe that it would ever unwind any nose down input. This behavior is entirely consistent with how the Speed Trim behaves in a stall situation, so I think you are looking for something that is not there. I am happy to stand corrected if Boeing every publishes new information to the contrary.