Couple of interesting excerpts:
Lion Air’s flight manual did not contain information about the new anti-stall system, according to investigators and an airplane flight manual seen by Reuters. U.S. pilots were also not made aware in training courses, pilot unions say.
Pilots can stop the automated response by pressing two buttons if the system behaves unexpectedly, the FAA says.
Pilots on a flight from Jakarta to Bali the day before the crash experienced a similar sensor issue but managed to land safely by turning off the system, the New York Times reported.
This sounds like a communication failure rather than an explicit technical failure as the system was overridable. Lion Air wasn't exactly well known for not being dodgy here so there was a possibility in the 10 minute flight window they couldn't resolve the issue.