Originally Posted by
MemberBerry
The first step in your mantra is "turn off the magic". What Boeing did by implementing MCAS severely undermines that first step, because they added an additional bit of "magic", that can't be turned off using the old procedures (A/P off, A/T off, FD off). Instead, turning off this bit of "magic" requires disabling manual electric trim as well, with the cutout switches.
I think it wouldn't hurt if Boeing would implement some way to disable automatic trim independently from manual electric trim. Something that can disable both STS and MCAS without forcing you to use the trim wheels for the rest of the flight.
Since making significant changes to the cockpit like adding switches is probably out of the question, maybe there should be a way to completely disable automatic trim, using existing switches. For example using the existing cutout switches. Placing them in the cutout position, waiting a few seconds, then switching them back to normal could be used as a way to disable automatic trim, but leave manual electric trim functional. That would require just a software change.
No need for new switches or fancy logic:
All 737 up to 737NG have 2 switches, the right one disables auto trim, the left one disables pilot electric trim, and probably all electric trim.
For as yet unexplained reasons this was changed on 737MAX so that
either switch disables
all electric trim.
The switches were relabeled to primary and backup.