This paper presents results of experimental and numerical analysis in terms of the finite element method of skin components of aircraft load bearing structures. The subject matter of the study was composite panels with stiffeners in the form of a regular grid of oriented longitudinal elements in accordance with the directions of the principal stresses in the covering. Analysis was conducted in the buckling states of structural deformation which showed that structures with stiffeners exhibit much more favorable behavior in buckling deformation states than in laminar structures. This translates into stress distributions and their gradients, which are milder in forms of stiffened structures.