Re: The plastic Boeing 787
There is a huge difference between "plastic" and "composite". Calling it plastic is like calling beer water. OK, beer has water in it, but its not the same thing.
It also depends what sort of composite you are talking about, GRP, CRP, GLARE etc etc, they are made of different things.
The big thing for me is not so much inspection and repairs - its knowing your aeroplane has been hit by a ground truck. It is strange how no one ever sees anything happen, or how the last bloke who no one knows left the brakes off the truck etc etc. It will be easier to cover up a composite collision than a metal one.
Lightning strikes are a problem too, unless there is a mesh to conduct the current. See the AAIB investigation of the glider that was blown apart by lightning. Both skins were charged to the same polarity, they repelled each other so strongly that they flew apart.