Rat 5-
IMHO this is a real human factor issue rather than a technical one. In the meantime the sharp end jockeys need to be sharper. It has been discussed that more technical safety nets leads to possible complacency and lack of gross error checks.
It really is a difficult dilemma to solve.
Right on. Sad fact is that 4 guys on the flt deck failed to spot the anomaly. QR are/were pretty hot on requiring everybody cross check every minute detail (to the extent of obsession, as B (augmenting) crew would sometimes get very involved, much to the annoyance of A crew trying to get on with the pre-flight job with minimal interference/distraction), so very surprising this one was missed.
However, as we have all seen in our CRM "exercises", all it takes is one strong individual to impose his views, and the rest of the group follows blindly against better judgement. "He knows what he's doing/saying". Human Factors indeed.