I find it interesting that the incident aircraft will never fly again even though there was no visible damage to the airframe.
Remember the Cjina Airlines 747SP that got into a spin over the Pacific years back. Here is a quote of some of the damage and its continued flying career....
" The aircraft was significantly damaged by the excessive G-forces. The wings were permanently bent upwards by 2 inches (5 cm), the inboard main landing gear lost two actuator doors, and the two inboard main gear struts were left dangling.[1] Most affected was the tail, where large outer parts of the horizontal stabilizer had been ripped off. The entire left outboard elevator had been lost along with its actuator, which had been powered by the hydraulic system that ruptured and drained.[1]
After repairs were made to the plane, it returned to service on April 25, 1985. It continued in service for nearly 12 years "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_006
Perhaps it was a more valuable aircraft. But it does show that a permanently damaged aircraft can sometimes continue to legally fly.