These flaws led from the builder's sincere desire to improve on Rutan's work, a goal that could actually be said to have been accomplished from an engineering perspective, even if it did kill the pilot. Background Aircraft are designed to be as safe as possible. This sounds pretty obvious, but if you look back to the history of the motorcar, you can see quite a contrast with aviation. The car companies required government intervention before adding, while still kicking and screaming, such esoteric safety equipment as headlights, windshield wipers, and seat belts. The aviation community, on the contrary, from the beginning made safety their primary goal.
Car fires are a common enough occurrence along America's freeways.
A gas line breaks under the hood and soon the engine is engulfed in flames. Pull over, get out, find a long stick, and start roasting marshmallows. That same fire in an aircraft at 10,000 feet is a far more serious affair. As a result, aircraft have fuel shutoff valves in the cockpit. Flip the valve and find a nice, friendly field somewhere below where you can safely land your plane.