>did it save lives in other circumstances?

It's a bandaid fix for an airframe issue. So yeah it probably saved lives, but ones which shouldn't have been at risk in the first place.

The whole thing wasn't kosher - re-using an old airframe to save costs even though its not really compatible with new engines to rush something to market with reduced certification requirements. The bandaid coming off shouldn't be where the focus should be

Culturally move fast & break things shouldn't be how aircraft go to market