This issue makes me wonder about inspection scheduling to airline convenience. Since the FAA allows no revenue flights with cracks in primary structures, how long before an avaricious lawyer sues an airline for operating aircraft that were not inspected just prior to their last revenue flight after which cracks were then discovered? I am told by engineers that my airline is avoiding inspections at airports it would be difficult and costly to do a repair for example.
That an airline has the option to inspect, knowing that some of their fleet have cracks, but does not for convenience smacks of reckless endangerment. (I am not going to qualify or attempt to quantify any risk. But I do note that cracks result in an immediate grounding, which is all a jury needs to hear.)