I’d estimate that countless short hops in a maritime environment take their toll, but that’s what progressive inspections are for. I wonder what they found?
Mokulele has been pretty casual about operations over the years. One year when my wife was flying from Molokai to Maui, the pilot began taxiing with an uncovered wing tank and the fuel cap swinging on a chain. She brought it to the pilot’s attention but was ignored. The whole cabin eventually was yelling at the pilot to stop, which he finally did reluctantly, and the cap was secured. Not a word of thanks, just a pilot pissed off at the pax. So much for CRM.