The intent of my original query was to point out that three of the five pilots who actually operated the flight controls during this malfunction broke the code on Step 1. MCAS was misbehaving, and they kept the blue side up. However, the next two didn’t. Personally, I think it is worth asking why that was the case? What was the difference in the training, experience, and environment that allowed the first three pilots to succeed where the others did not? I don’t really think it was just a matter of luck.
Perhaps because in the first case the event took place whilst in the cruise ie began from a steady state and trim runaway would have been obvious, aside from that caused by normal pax or CC movement, trim. The other two took place in a very dynamic environment ie during takeoff where the trim is expected to run by STS and normal pilot activation.
FH1100 is quoted earlier on,
Like all of us, my ego makes me want to sit here and think to myself and promise you that *I* surely would have done a better job in that situation. But I cannot guarantee that. Perhaps I would have done the same thing, basically sitting frozen on the controls for those eight brief seconds. I like to believe I'm Chuck Yeager/Aaron/Norris all rolled into one awesome human bean. Most of the time though I'm just Chuckles the Clown. I cut that Dave guy a lot of slack
Rather than asking why the first crew managed it might be more fruitful to ask why both takeoff events ended as they did.