After a good three/four years of trouble-free service I'll change my mind - but wild horses wouldn't drag me onto one in the near future!
Noting that the type did have nearly two years of "trouble free service" prior to the first accident.
sign-off by EASA or an independent regulator
Can you tell us who an independent regulator is please?
As far as I know all of the regulators are owned and operated by the governments of sovereign states and as such are an instrument of government policy. Separating politics from this is impossible.