Originally Posted by
hoover
Wasn't it VMC? Why not look outside, use pitch and power and get your head out of the cockpit?
Foreign carriers rely heavily on automation. When it doesn't work planes crash.
Not saying there wasn't a problem with a system but there sure is a problem with lack of flying skills in countries developing avaiation.
Pitch and Power works if the aircraft is responding as predicted to your inputs.
In this failure case, it sounds like the MCAS system would be repeatedly pitching the aircraft nose down while you're trying to bring the nose up. Being VMC would've just give you a better view of the roller coaster ride while you're desperately trying to wrap your head around the situation.
Btw, as I understand it, there were previous Lion Air crews who were able to deal with a similar failure, no?
After the Air France iced over pitot probe crash (which btw more than one foreign crew had dealt with adequately previously), every airline in the world started introducing that scenario to their crews in the sim and most crews including those in the US had difficulty initially, until the training highlighted the correct response.
Studies have shown that our flying skills are eroding as a result of more reliance on automation. But that's not unique to the rest of the world. It is very much the case in the US too..
The solution obviously is that every pilot should make the effort once in a while to kick off the automation and get back in touch with our airplanes.