Exploiting this aviation-related post to see if any aerospace folks will comment on my two-month old Ask - Ask HN: Why is the National Airspace System so dated? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12651244

In regard to the safety of regionals vs. the major airlines that the article's author is writing about: I can see why the statistics are separate. Even though, according to the FAA, we're all under the "same standard", in practice, this isn't the case. As long as the paperwork looks the same, though, we're "safe". Also, within the industry, some pilots tend to think of themselves as shouldering the responsibility of safety, however, I sometimes think we're safe despite the pilots. Engineers of aircraft, airspace, arrival/departure/approach procedures, airports, ATC systems, etc. are silently keeping you safe. That the FAA is able to manage all of these elements is quite impressive. Still, its massive bureaucracy can be quite Vogon-like.