Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System
The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is feature on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft intended to prevent stalls in low-speed, nose-up flight. It is the latest in a hundred years' development of devices to notify pilots of an impending stall or to prevent the stall. The MCAS uses airspeed and other sensor data to compute when a dangerous condition has developed and then pushes the stick forward.
History
Stall warning horns have been common since WWII. In the 1960s, a stick shaker was installed to notify the pilot more forcefully than the horn. With the introduction of fly-by-wire systems in airliners, it became possible to alter feel of the ocntroll in the pilot's hands depending on flight regime, or evn to override the pilot's commands when the flight computer senses a dangeruse condtion. Airbus led Boeing in adoption of system that would not permit a pilot to put an airliner in a dangerous regime.
Accidents in MCAS-equipped Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
References
- ^ Lee, Yen Nee (13 November 2018). "Boeing didn't disclose possible fault in flight safety feature suspected in Lion Air crash: WSJ". CNBC. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ Nichols, Shaun (27 November 2018). "Boeing 737 pilots battled confused safety system that plunged aircraft to their deaths – black box". The Register. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
External links
- "Fly-by-wire" a 1972 Flight article
