The increased use of optical measurement techniques in industrial environments has the potential to increase knowledge and creates an opportunity for a more comprehensive validation of computational predictions. In this paper, a quantitative validation methodology is applied to a 1 m × 1 m panel from an aircraft fuselage subject to compression and torsion, in order to evaluate the predicted response of the panel. A test matrix with four loading cases, namely pre-buckling and post-buckling compression with and without torsion, was used to demonstrate the capabilities of the validation methodology on the industrial component. The out-of-plane displacement fields were analysed with the aid of image decomposition and a validation process was successfully performed using a quantitative metric. The feature vectors, obtained through image decomposition, representing the surface curvature of the physical and virtual specimens were analysed to assess the similarity of the component’s overall curvature. Then, the feature vectors representing measured and predicted displacements for the four loading cases were used to analyse the deformed shapes and conduct a validation process for the simulation outcomes. The predictions of the deformation of the fuselage panel were found to have a high probability of representing the measured data.