What is a true statement regarding the inspection of a stressed skin wing assembly after critical loading?

The statement that consecutive rivet heads will tip in the same direction if tipping occurs accurately reflects a critical aspect of inspecting a stressed skin wing assembly. When rivets experience significant stress or loading, any tendency for failure or deformation often leads to consistent patterns. If there is an issue, such as a structural disintegration or a resultant misalignment due to repeated loading cycles, it's likely that the rivet heads will not only tip but do so in a coordinated manner. This pattern can indicate the nature of the forces acting on the assembly and can be critical for identifying areas of potential weakness or failure.

Moreover, this observation serves various purposes in maintaining aircraft integrity. For instance, a consistent direction of tipping can provide insights into the type of stresses being applied, whether they are related to installation procedures, fatigue, or environmental conditions.

In contrast, the other statements are less reliable indicators of structural issues. Uniform alignment of rivet heads might suggest good assembly initially, but does not account for the changes that occur under stress. Rivet shank elongation is a potential problem, but in isolation does not confirm failure and requires further analysis. Lastly, saying only visual inspection is necessary is inadequate, as proper inspections often involve more than just visual checks, incorporating various testing