The early aviation industry had a very substantial "move fast and break stuff" mentality. YouTube has plenty of videos of those folks. However "break stuff" usually meant smearing aircraft and bodies all over the landscape. Much of FAA's regulation is to try to prevent killing "too many" people. If the engine on your car stops, you can usually pull over to the side of the road. If the engine on your aircraft stops, you're going to be landing soon and hopefully not landing on a building full of people. And if you're really lucky when the engine stops, all the people sitting in the back can walk away.

The FAA is frequently called a "tombstone agency" - who only act long after fatal accidents and the bodies have been buried.