Topic: Angle Of Attack

A Southwest Airlines pilot clarifies the technical details of the Boeing 737 MAX's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The system relies on Angle of Attack (AOA) sensors and can trigger "runaway trim," a condition pilots should be trained to handle manually. Boeing is criticized for failing to include MCAS details in initial training materials, leading to inadequate responses from flight crews in the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines disasters.

A 2014 incident involving an Airbus A320 near Pamplona is cited, where the aircraft unexpectedly pitched down and descended 6,000 feet due to blocked angle of attack probes. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) subsequently released new flight crew procedures to address this specific automation failure. The hosts suggest that a similar technical malfunction is a plausible alternative to the pilot suicide theory.