From 737 Driver
Apparently no one [at Boeing] connected the dots that by removing the control column cutout switches from the circuit, MCAS was now set up to malfunction in a novel and hazardous manner.
This has been mentioned a number of times, but really was the final straw that broke two airplanes.
More thorough engineering would have looked at flight path angle before trimming nose down. Airspeed and radio altimeter are also worthwhile components in determining whether additional nose down trim is advisable. But then that would increase software development and testing costs.
The Boeing press release seems to have been written by the AoA department, which apparently has nothing to do with the MCAS department
