Since there is no way to test and see which units are weak and which not, the alternatives were to either assume this was a one of a kind accident and let it pass or to assume it is common and ground the entire fleet, probably permanently, because manufacturing new tail assemblies would take years and end up costing too much. The airlines are too financially fragile right now to take the second alternative unless there are more crashes.
What surprised me was that the Govt. didn't claim it was terrorism, even when it wasn't in order to whip up support for the war on terror. At the time it happened, it was not certain that the publics resolve would hold up for a long term campaign. They wasted a perfectly good accident through a frivolous regard for the facts.
So9