Experience a malfunction in the simulator What happens at that time? 737MAX December 17 12:35

Boeing 737MAX has been suspended due to two crashes. What happens in the cockpit when a system called MCAS that automatically controls the attitude of the aircraft that caused the accident malfunctions during flight? I talked to a former pilot who had experienced with a simulator of Boeing in the United States.

After a series of accidents, Japan Airlines former captain and aviation critic Hiroyuki Kobayashi experienced a high-performance simulator capable of reproducing maneuvers at Boeing in the United States.

MCAS is a system that automatically lowers the nose and stabilizes the flight even if the pilot does not operate when the nose rises too much.

Reproduce MCAS malfunction

Mr. Kobayashi said that he had reproduced the MCAS malfunction that caused the crash, and actually experienced it.

When Mr. Kobayashi drove a simulator set up to cause malfunctions, MCAS was activated even though the nose did not rise significantly at an altitude of about 1000 meters for about 1 minute after takeoff, and he began to lower the nose without permission. It is called.

Mr. Kobayashi tried to raise the nose by pulling the control cane forward because the altitude was low immediately after takeoff and it had to continue to rise, but the system tried to lower the nose. It is said that it became harder and harder to pull the to the front, and it was forced to give up to support with the power of the hand.

For this reason, Mr. Kobayashi maintained the altitude using a switch that moved the horizontal tail with the power of electricity.

However, when the switch was released, the nose began to drop again, so I finally gave up controlling the horizontal tail with electricity and had another pilot support me manually.

On the other hand, in the simulator after refurbishing the MCAS system, the system was finally activated when the nose was raised to a considerable angle.

Mr. Kobayashi said, “Pilot should be prepared to cope with unforeseen circumstances, but some pilots may be surprised if the nose suddenly begins to drop during take-off. When a malfunction occurs. I felt it was necessary to have a solid grasp and training on how to deal with it. "

The pilot who was piloting ...

A male pilot who was actually on board the Boeing 737 MAX at an overseas airline said, “I was afraid that there might have been a problem with my aircraft.”

This male pilot is currently working on an overseas airline and had been working on a 737 MAX crew for over a year before it was suspended.

According to the pilot, the feature of this aircraft is that the engine is larger and the installation position has moved forward compared to the conventional 737 aircraft, but it can be operated with almost the same feeling as the conventional aircraft.

Rather, because the output of the engine became larger, it was easier to operate the control stick and felt that the operation was more stable.

In addition, since the pilot can operate with the driver's license for the conventional 737 aircraft, this pilot can now be operated with only one simulator training and simple sitting.

On the other hand, regarding “MCAS” that caused the crash, there was a basic explanation about “MCAS”, such as the conditions under which the function of automatically lowering the nose that was too high in the manual before the accident of the working company of men worked. It was not listed.

The pilot said, “Before the accident, I thought it was a safe airplane that I could n’t complain about, but I was surprised to know the danger of malfunctioning only after the accident occurred. I was scared. "