had cracked drip shields and how long they were there undetected
The logic would probably be along the lines of a question I once asked "Why are we not providing for alternates as required by regs etc? Answer - The chances of requiring use of an alternate are so infentesably small as to be not worth considering." In keeping with that corporate logic, which seems to be widely spread these days, the answer is "When did you ever hear of a 747 being saved because it had drip shields in place?"
