Originally Posted by
infrequentflyer789
After all, this is a system which, even if it can't be overridden by the control column, does have an off-switch. If we assume the level of pilot competency (and maybe country of origin) which Boeing designers seem to have been assuming, and that, as per Tawkis #2469, the manual still documents the column cutout safety feature (without exception for MCAS, which is undocumented), then MCAS cannot possibly work. Why? - because the pilot that sees the aircraft trimming nose down with stick full back will diagnose trim runaway and immediately switch it off. Furthermore, they may then go on to run into what MCAS was supposed to protect them from - because there are no documented restrictions on flight envelope after you've hit the stab cutouts.
Infrequentflyer, great post !
Indeed what you mention here has been nagging at me for a while.
The MCAS principle doesn't make sense : can't be overridden with the yoke because they say it
must stay active, but can be deactivated with pedestal switches...