‘… the entire industry that has moved in the shareholders'/beancounters' direction.’
Because we are a very safe industry; complacency, drifting standards, less oversight, … ?
The holes in the cheese are opening and closing as before; the industry continues to manage most, but less skilled at identifying new self-generated ‘holes’.
The Max saga identified many latent ‘holes’; who knew, who saw them, who acted. Could anyone act having identified a problem within the top agencies - the regulator and manufacturer.
Who checks the ‘checkers’.
New holes to come; the aircraft will be safe for service, but the effect of the issues on operators and pilots will generate new opportunities to see ‘holes’, even if none are there.