[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just think it's an interesting story. FWIW (as has been said) I doubt many flight crews would ever knowingly fly an aircraft they suspected to be unsafe. Unless training has done a COMPLETE 180 since I flew a few years back, the "correct" answer is always to decline the flight if there's any doubt. I agree though, the pilot in command can't always be aware of every single thing on the aircraft before the flight. During preflight inspection, you check certain "known" wear items, obvious things like fuel & oil levels, control surface operation, etc. You can't know the condition of every single bolt, rivet, weld and wire inside the aircraft. Past a certain point, you have to trust your team and your ground crews that the inspections have been complied with and they're looking out for you. That's where the breakdown occurred in this case, from the sound of it.

If I were an SWA pilot, I'd be pretty fuming mad about this today. . . Just because an inspection doesn't get performed on time doesn't mean the airplane will fall out of the sky, but it's more liability for you (you're Pilot-In-Command) and certainly it is more risk you're being exposed to.