With that kind of propulsion politically available, I doubt finding workable combinations of mitigation strategies to interstellar medium hazards would be the showstopper. Especially not one to hold us back for time scales that oceans did. Getting humans interested in prioritizing projects like that, to me, is the real headscratcher.
Read somewhere else that the engine in that plane lies really close to the ground, and the guy (maintenance worker on his first day) got suckered in. Can’t say if any of this is true but that’s what I read.