Like air carriage, electronics is a business that is relatively easy to get into and relatively hard to stay in.
There's a familiar ring about the reported problems with faulty components, manufactured into faulty systems, now leading to faulty companies.
From all reports, a bit of simple electrical testing at the component mfr or the systems mfr would surely have revealed the fabrication flaw. This is what separates beginners from finishers in technology related business.
Low-cost aluminum-foil electrolytic capacitors are typically used in power suppies and power circuits in consumer products. They depend on a chemical oxide layer for the capacitive effect. The correct electrical polarity (plus to plus, minus to minus) maintains this essential oxide layer. If electrolytics are fed a net reverse polarity for any duration, the oxide layer breaks down and the parts function very like low-ohm resistors as they generate heat and converte the internal electrolyte into various gasses. This mechanism leads to progressive failure. Eventually the gasses pressurize the case enough to explode - quite dramatically for big ones. Less dramatic failures result when occasional reverse-polarity pulses gradually convert the necessary electrolyte to gas - a 1-way process. The phenomena are so well recognized that this type of capacitor is normally manufactured with a burst diaphragm scribed into the package so as to control the kaboom contingency somewhat.
(Interestingly, the oxide layer in these components also deteriorates over time if unused. Powering up electronics with them after years of shelf time can lead to unpredictable behavior for a while until the electrolytic capacitors "heal" themsleves and begin to filter properly. )
While faulty electrolyte chemistry certainly is possible, it is a pretty dumb and obvious mistake for volume production. Similar foulups happen more often than many would care to believe, which is why Quality Control is such a popular phrase in the technology field. Other common causes for failure of these components - in the general case - are circuit design errors and failures of other components, such as reverse flow-preventing diodes.
As for avionics - the use of cheap but inherently fallible aluminum electrolytics is frowned upon in critical applications for the reasons cited above. Avionics, mil electronics, and hardened computing things typically use more exotic (and exponentially more expensive) technologies to accomplish equivalent results.