What's new? I remember when a slip with a chipping hammer could pierce the deck of an operational frigate, grey paint wouldn't adhere to the new GRP minehunters and special intumescent paint had to be developed to impede fire burning through their machinery space bulkheads and deckheads. Solutions were found in every case.
I also remember when carrier aircraft dropped into the oggin with alarming regularity, e.g. 55 of 145 Sea Vixens constructed were lost in accidents. As for the Harrier:
List of Harrier Jump Jet family losses
Apparently, all versions of the F-35 have flown well over 100,000 hours without a single crash.