Plain English Meaning

The airplane's body and wings have been physically harmed — bent, cracked, or weakened — by forces stronger than they were built to handle.

Full Definition

Physical damage to the load-bearing structure of an airplane — the wings, fuselage, tail, and the spars, ribs, skin, and attachment points that hold them together — caused by forces beyond what the structure was designed to withstand. In a spiral dive, this damage typically results from excessive airspeed, high G-loads during recovery, or both, and may include bent or buckled metal, popped rivets, deformed control surfaces, or hidden cracks that compromise the airplane's .