Boeing 737 Max 8: The Battle over Blame

It's really an obscenity to propose the high airspeed was a function of power and not (mis)trim. Trim dictates airspeed, and power dictates the rate of climb or decent, with elevator as a moderator of both in addition to attitude.

A power reduction would cause a slight reduction in airspeed initially, immediately followed by the airplane nosing down - a direct consequence of positive static stability, a require aerodynamic feature of all FAR 25 transport category airplanes.

It's unfortunate the pilots didn't perceive the sabotage they were dealing with sooner - I'm not sure how they could have without any prior knowledge of the severity of the betrayal. A system that noses down this much this fast at this altitude disregarding all other available information - it's flawed. Pilots aren't a backup for a system that goes berserk and sabotages stable flight. This system behaved indistinguishably from a human pilot who wanted everyone on board dead - of course the system doesn't think maliciously, but nor did it take all available information into account, and that single minded approach of this system makes it deadly. Twice.

Precisely how and why would U.S. pilots have made a different decision in the same situation? Stronger and more endurance to fight the plane for another 10 minutes at a slow climb, to have the altitude to correct the mistrim, a technique which results in intentional porpoising and altitude loss? I'd scoff, but that's more plausible than U.S. pilots realizing faster that the automation is the saboteur, and deactivating it before the severe mistrim occurs.