As it was, the Boeing MCAS computer flight system flew the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max into the ground as the pilots cut power to the stabilizer’s electric motor and frantically tried using the trim wheel to recover control.
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Actually, they reactivated the automatic trim before the final pitch down.
At that point they were in an overspeed condition. If they had been competent pilots they would have pulled back on the throttles and MCAS would have been deactivated automatically. They didn’t need to know that MCAS existed.
True, but they also had the stall warning blaring. I believe that most pilots would consider a stall to be a more immediate concern than over speed and the corrective actions are basically the exact opposite of an over speed.
The reaction that you prescribe -- pulling back on the throttle -- was not the intuitive or trained response to the deadly condition that the Ethiopian Air flight crew confronted. The initial malfunction of the MCAS system was potentially lethal and set in motion a series of events and crew reactions that led to the crash. A superior pilot and crew might have averted the disaster, but the 737 MAX is supposed to be flown by pilots and crews of ordinary experience and ability, not by a select few of extraordinary ability.