In a word. Yes.
Actual flight data from this crash included in my answer for reference.
First let's establish what we know. I'm a helicopter pilot, not some raving armchair critic. Consequently I have spoken, and continue to do so with friends in the airlines, including pilots who fly the NG (NextGen) predecessor to the MAX series.
Next: this is a long line of revisions on an airworthiness certificate first granted in the late 1960's. While not unusual it's important to keep in mind.
The MAX uses a flight safety/stability system called MCAS. This is unique and only a software ability that can FULLY trim the elevator (up and down) control without the pilot commanding it to.
The MCAS is designed to lower the attitude/nose of the aircraft if it senses a drop in airspeed, an obvious effort to regain airspeed if the pilot is unaware of the drop.
Fine in principle, however Boeing determined that it was unnecessary to train pilots on the existence of the system NOR TRAIN THEM ON HOW TO REMEDY THE SITUATION IN THE EVENT OF A 'FULL TRIM RUNAWAY'.
I'm using all caps and bold to emphasise a point. There is a safety system in this plane, this plane only that will force the nose of the aircraft down even if the pilot is pulling up.
To counter the force of the MCAS you need to exert AT LEAST 40kg of pull ON BOTH YOKES (Two controls in the cockpit) to override it. That's 80kg!!
The bulletin on how to overcome this problem was only issued in December and requires the stabiliser trim switches are OFF.
I have included the bulletin here:
https://ad.easa.europa.eu/blob/2018-23-51_FR_Correction.pdf/AD_US-2018-23-51_1
Fine if you've just been given this info. Useless if you haven't. Even worse if you're trying to fight with the yoke to pull up unexpectedly and you're only 300m off the deck.
I have now confirmed that a Boeing 777 on the tarmac heard the pilot broadcast an emergency transmission on Tower frequency saying he had erratic speed readings and the aircraft was impossible to control.
I say it again. This is the second BRAND NEW $130,000,000 aircraft that was impossible to control and crashed within months of its delivery. This should be impossible! Yet it's the second!
So we know of the MCAS issue. We know the pilot reported a problem. And we have the records of his flight profile here, where it's clear he WAS NOT battling with speed in reality but we can see he went into several nose dives while the aircraft continued to accelerate.
Think about this: his rate of climb should have been ~2,500 feet per minute (think how high the nose aims up on takeoff) when we can see it was very nearly 2,000 fpm down. This is terrifying.
We know the Lion Air crash was nearly identical where preliminary reports suggest a faulty AOA/Speed sensor caused the MCAS to force the nose down.
My thought is the pilot finally disengaged the MCAS (assuming he'd read the bulletin and remembered what to do) where by this time the aircraft was trimmed fully forward/down and was destroyed.
Importantly and terrifyingly the doomed flight never got much above 1,000 ft but hit the ground at an almighty 383 knots.
In summary: the MAX series is in big trouble and I would personally, strongly recommend anyone reading this to contact your airline if you have a flight scheduled and determine if you are to be in a 737 MAX 8 or 9 and request a refund.
This isn't hysterical. This plane has a faulty system on board that will interpret bad data from its own sensors and plummet, despite the pilots having gorilla strength and a will to stay alive.
Avoid. At all costs.