"In a statement, the Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said “safety is a core value for everyone at Boeing,”"
If that were true, such a critical feature would have redundant sensors. There is no reason not to have them except costs. Even more so if one considers that other sensors ARE redundant, they even feed either the pilot or co-pilot displays, never both.
The costs in this case was $1000000 per airframe sold if Class D simulator training was required, which resulted in the decision to go with the single sensor design.
If that were true, such a critical feature would have redundant sensors. There is no reason not to have them except costs. Even more so if one considers that other sensors ARE redundant, they even feed either the pilot or co-pilot displays, never both.