Lets face it, planes are also a LOT easier to fly these days. Compare a 1960s Trident or DC9 to todays Airbus with GPS, Alpha-Floor, ILS, HUD, EFIS,ACARS,GPWS, weather radar,laptops etc etc.
A lot of effort has been put in by manufacturers to make aircraft much more foolproof and to try and learn from each and every incident.
G