By Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

It’s something any of us face every time the wheels leave the ground: Something happens—probably beyond our control—and when the airplane comes to rest, it can’t be flown again. Whether a gear-up landing, an engine failure or a cautionary off-airport landing, the airplane is damaged.

Now comes what many consider the hard part, a task for which few of us are trained: The aftermath of bending an airplane. Depending on the circumstance, you could be blocking a runway at a major airport, with anxious crews hovering with a tractor to drag your precious bird out of the way. …