Isn't this the same exact problem that the lady hunter in Africa had a couple years back, and her PH got killed by a buffalo charge or something?
If so, then yes, it is a "design flaw" of sorts.
I remember that incident. It was discussed on these pages. IIRC, the deal was, the lady hunter had the rifle loaded with the safety on. When she needed to push the safety off, it wouldn't disengage. Apparently, in this case, with the rifle on safe, and with the bolt handle lifted up a bit, the safety won't push off. I remember checking all my M70's to see if any of mine would exhibit this problem, and none did. That's the way I remember it.
