Why would it be on ‘Autopilot’ only 3 minutes into the flight?..................
Modern commercial flying. Pretty much have a button to take off, go to destination, and land. The pilot is there more or less "just in case."
The MCAS system is different from the autopilot. It is only enabled when the plane is flown manually. There is suppose to be a switch to turn it off altogether. When autopilot is on the MCAS system is off from articles I've read. When the plane is flown manually it has a tendency to lift the nose of the aircraft. The MCAS system forces the nose back down. I am not sure if that is a safety feature or fuel saving feature. I suspect it has more to do with the fuel savings.
I agree. I had not read too much into this accident before commenting. But I have followed previous accidents. Sully commented a couple of days ago about the co-pilot having 200 hours, and how this is RIDICULOUS for any airline, even a 3rd World S_ithole airline, and I agree.
The fact is I don't know what caused this tragedy.