Nothing needs to be changed except the attitude airlines have regarding performing maintenance in the prescribed manner instead of cutting corners. The life cycle for any element on an aircraft is predicated on the performance of the maintenance agreed upon in the maintenance-working group prior to certification and if applicable the MSG analysis. The engineers establish wear limits and that they specify that the maintenance program for any item includes periodic inspections to determine if limits are met or exceeded and lubrication where necessary.
A lot of people lost their lives because of lax management of the maintenance program and it will kill a lot of people in the future unless there is a change in attitude. It was not a design problem, and it was not Murphy’s law. It was just plain hardheadedness and stupidity.
IMHO
