This bug report is poorly constructed IMO because it mentions two bugs. The first bug is the sponges suppressing updates, and the second bug is the crash caused by the flying machine. The second bug is impossible to test in 17w47b due to odd piston behavior, and seems to be fixed in 17w48a. The first bug, however, is still relevant in the current snapshot if unintended behavior.
This is also an issue with extending pistons.
Still in 1.14.2 Pre-Release 4.