Lion Air Flight 610 crashed on 10/29/2018, twelve minutes after takeoff killing all 189 passengers and crew. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes after takeoff killing all 157 people aboard.
Both aircraft were Boeing 737 Max 8s with a Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). MCAS is activated without the pilot’s input, which has led to some frustration among pilots of the 737 Max jet. Both jets crashed because MCAS responded to faulty inputs.
The FAA pilot transition into the Max 8 didn’t involve any flight training (simulator or otherwise). Pilots instead simply learned about the 737’s new features on an iPad. Pilots at United Airlines had a 13-page guide to learn the 737 Max. They didn’t mention the MCAS.
MCAS was deemed unnecessary information by Boeing and hence the FAA and EASA.
Knowledge beyond what the FAA/EASA requires isn’t worthless and extraneous book facts. And experience isn’t just a learned skill a pilot pulls out at a suitable time like a parroted bit of rote memorization.
Some of what I read here is disconcerting and downright idiotic. The best pilots I’ve met are the ones who thirst for knowledge beyond the required, think and then apply it up there.