Would you give the aircraft's control design a pass or a fail if that was the link that "broke" first in the above situation?
I wondered about this very question in my last post. I think it's more complicated than a simple pass or fail answer. This is a question that deserves some nuanced thinking about the fundamental design philosophy with regards to automation.
Having said that, if you put a gun to my head, I'd say its a pass. The time to prevent this tragic accident was before entering the storm.