Pre-Jet flight wasn't exactly a suicide run. A turboprop plane with dual engines was as safe as a jet, fixed for a number of factors.

The larger benefit with jets is being able to fly much higher and faster and being able to hit the 30,000-35,000 sweet spot where the air is thinner, the plane is above storms, and jet fuel efficiency for typical planes is pretty good. The larger 'innovation' on the success of jets is the lowered cost per seat. Props at 10k altitude burned a lot of fuel and were slow which hurt their ability to get more fares. Safety didn't hold back the industry. Cost and speed did.

edit: applies to non-turbo prop as well