I am really surprised this didn't kick up

Oh totally, there was a lot going on there. Boeing and Aloha airlines both had part in it. The 737's were redesigned after that to improve strength in that area and the inspection schedules were modified. There were also claims that the cracks had been visible before the flight and ignored, obviously an inspection issue. It's not usually just the "one thing", but a chain of events.
Usually 7 links in a chain of events leading to an accident. Break one link in the chain, it doesnt happen.