The WSJ is certainly taking on an investigative reporting role in this debacle....very interesting.
This seems to tell a different story that what I have heard before. That MCAS was originally designed to 0.6 degrees, and the test flights showed it needed 2.5 degrees. Now, this says the test pilots didnt know about the 2.5 degrees?
Originally Posted by
Smythe 
Simple fix:
Increase the height of the landing gear (which should have been done 15 years ago) and put the damn motors back where they are supposed to be.
That $2 billion it was gonna cost looks pretty cheap right now...
Apart from all the other considerations, I understand that an increased height landing gear did not fit in the space available within the main structure, which meant that would have to be completely re-engineered.
yes, re-engineering the wingbox, that was the $2 billion cost years ago...
Correction: For the MAX 8, the engines were move fwd/up to get same clearance as the 738 (so no mod to landing gear) For the MAX 10, they re-engineered the landing gear to a scissor to get some added height, (but still needed to move the engines fwd/up..I am unclear if the engine location on the 10)