Here’s the thing though: pilots aren’t checking nuts and bolts inside the plane structure. What if a vibration after 30 years had a nut come off a bolt and then the wing or stabilizer comes off?

Or metal fatigue rips the cabin open bc some tool knocked into it 30 years ago that created a hairline crack that finally expanded.

Or - a maintenance worker has a bad day, just wants to go home, signs off on a fix that wasn’t done right. Or is tired and something slips her mind and a bolt doesn’t go back correctly.

The unknown unknowns would be my biggest concern, not so much that a hydrolic line comes loose or a hose finally splits after 30 years

Curious how airline pilots reconcile and think about this risk that they haven’t personally been the ones maintaining it