Was MCAS needed?

[gums]

Thanks, TD

The assumption that MCAS loss of sanity would be seen as runaway trim is one thing that bugs me. Most runaway trim would not be corrected by beeping the trim switches on the yoke, unless there is alot of folks out there that never had to trim using switches on the stick or yoke.

I do not put a lot of credence to the four second assumption of a big problem because the MCAS activation stopped briefly if the pilot just beeped the trim switch. Added to the implementation was undocumented changes to the trim cutout switches. Oh oh oh, how about telling the pilots that they had this thing called MCAS? How about telling them what it was supposed to do? As a pilot, I am pissed about the hold thing, and feel betrayed.

I had my share of "firsts" in new planes, and some hairy moments in others. But this MCAS implementation in both aero design and procedural implementation simply scares me. Imagine if you were on nuclear alert back in the sixties and they changed the pre arming and actual arming of our weapons without telling us and having us practicing a few sim missions?

I relinquish the floor.