Here's a question for consideration that I haven't seen discussed in depth anywhere. Both the Indonesian and Ethiopian 737s fought and lost the battle with the MCAS systems, but both also had airspeed near or beyond the maximum allowed. In the Ethiopian case the air crew were criticized for not watching their speed and not turning the automatic throttle off.
The Indonesian report never mentions automatic throttle, and they were unable to sort out correct flight info between the right and left flight computers and the backup. So much so that they asked the terminal control about their altitude and airspeed, 322 knots 2,150 feet as they retracted the flaps and got the first nose down.
My neighbor went into so much detail that I actually had to leave before he finished telling me the finer points of what he had learned. I looked at the link that you included in your latest two points but there is a lot of information to go through there as well. I realize that with my experience being limited to general aviation aircraft that this is going over my head.
The primary point my neighbor made was that the behavior of the automatic trim system that Boeing has been using for nearly 60 years and the actual mechanics of how it works were altered. What happens when you use the two stab trim cutout switches near the stabilizer trim wheel also appears to have been altered. To completely disable MCAS it appears that you now need to turn off the breaker which is above your head and not that easy to find in an emergency if you haven’t been made aware of it previously. With proper training and notification the new system may still be perfectly safe but he felt that the lack of proper notification may be a big problem for Boeing.
All...Well worth reading. This preliminary report does not identify "cause". I believe that in section 2 of the final report, any finding that is "causal" will be listed as such. Also, note 14, at the bottom of page 22 explains what a "Finding" is.
...but both also had airspeed near or beyond the maximum allowed...
I believe this will be listed as a "causal" finding in both accidents.