Risky?? (Score 1)

How is the possible repair of actual damage to the Shuttle underbelly more risky than removing filler material sticking out the tile gaps previously?? It seems to me that it was much more risky to remove the filler material when there was no tile damage present. I believe the reasoning was that the filler material could affect the aerodynamics of the Shuttle, but so could a 3" gash in the underbelly.

Man, there is going to be a lot of engineers holding their breathe on this landing...