Yes, because no catastrophic defects have been present in airliners in the past 50 years.

I don't think it's generational per se, but I've noticed a declining level of concern for safety in product design compared to even like 20 years ago. I think people got used to the idea that everything is generally very safe and now there's less of an emphasis, so given enough time we'll start seeing dangerous products again and the cycle will start anew.

I agree. We need way younger CEOs (and legislators!). This current crop is perfectly fine rushing QA to ship defective products as long as it lines their own pockets. In industries where failures won't directly kill people they actually plan the obsolescence to happen.

Leadership from a more environmentally-conscious and empathetic Gen Z would definitely have safer products that last longer.

Get this generationalist BS out of here. It isn't supported by the facts. Airline safety has improved with each generation. There were many more plane crashes in the 1970s-1980s when boomers were in their prime. Five times as many!

The only cultural problem is in management.