Hub flange runout is one of those things that gets ignored because the rim is what you can see, and a dial indicator on the hub makes it feel like you're chasing ghosts at first. Where it really shows up is disc brakes, since a hub face that isn't square to the axle will make the rotor rub no matter how straight your wheel is. So you're not just getting a smoother ride, you're fixing something that would've bit you later on a different part of the bike. Most builders never check it because their fixture doesn't let them, not because it doesn't matter.

Check what actually happened when he finally gave the signal. Did the ground crew hear him the first time, or did he have to repeat it because they were still running their mouths? That gap between the radio call and the hook moving is where guys get hurt. So was it the noise that was the problem, or was it that nobody was really listening in the first place?

Leaning is fine, you just didn't rotate them or check the curve for 3 years.