It’s not yet known if this latest crash is in any way related to the first (although I have several outstanding wagers against this being the case).
Totally backfired in that regard though.
I can imagine it looks good on the marketing material, 'no pilot retraining required!', but as far as I understand from all the analysis so far, it's actually not that hard to disable the new MCAS system and prevent a crash. As a pilot you only need to know it is there, and what happens if it somehow fails.
I would be surprised if they had sold even a single plane less if they advertised it as 'very minimal pilot retraining necessary'.
That might be enough for the plane to need a separate type certificate, meaning hundreds of millions of dollars expenses for Boeing to get it certified, and full new-type pilot training costs for every airline to fly the aircraft. (Plus, time, and ongoing crew management to juggle pilots certified on one but not the other.)
You don't even have to know it is there. All you need to know is "hey, auto trim is acting very funky today and I'm having to fight it. Better override.". And hit two switches.
> I would be surprised if they had sold even a single plane less if they advertised it as 'very minimal pilot retraining necessary'.
They were likely afraid that it would require a new type certificate.
