NTSB Briefing, NTSB claiming .3 to .8 g wake encounter caused crash?!?!?!

CNN | 11/15/2001 | me

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

This is Bull $h!t!!!

The NTSB is LYING like rugs!!!

NTSB dude just claimed that .3 to .8 g's encountered during the wake encounter caused the Airbus to break up in flight...

Even a male reported asked "is this even possible".

"Isn't this normal bumping encountered when flying?"

Even the media don't believe them!!!!!

[tuesday afternoon]

Just thought of something. Homebuilts are composite, are they not?

[tuesday afternoon]

Oops. I scanned your post too quickly. I've heard homebuilts are incredibly strong. I do know the industry monitors itself intensely.

[tuesday afternoon]

Onlyif somebody packed a black hole.

[tuesday afternoon]

I find it inordinatelyhard to believe pilots would justshut up and fly if they truly thought Airbuses were "pieces of junk".

[tuesday afternoon]

I know Physics 101. I took Phsyics 101. And this, sir, is no Physics 101.

[NYRepublican]

Excuse me if I am wrong but isn't 1G what one experiences in straight and level flight. O G's is weightless and .3 - .8 G's would be between 1 G and weightless and this tore off the vertical stabilizer. Give me a break.

[justlurking]

Homebuilts are composite, are they not?

Some are. Others are aluminum or fabric on wood.

But, composite homebuilts are typically (at least partly) built from room-temperature composites, rather than ones that have to be cured in an oven. Room temperature composites are not as strong when the ambient air temperature is high.

The strength and durability of composite components depend on a lot of factors.

[tuesday afternoon]

Hmmm.

[tuesday afternoon]

Have faith.

[tuesday afternoon]

Maintenance records indicate that before the plane was delivered to American Airlines in 1988, one of the six fittings that hold the tail to the fuselage had to be repaired by the manufacturer. The fitting's thickness was increased and it was reinforced with rivets.

I have't seen the pictures, but the fittings are all intact, are they not?

[Map Kernow]

I have't seen the pictures, but the fittings are all intact, are they not?

As I understand it, the metal fittings were OK, but there was some kind of carbon wire attaching them to the "tail" (if I can use that colloquialism) that appeared to break at all six contact points with the fittings. Fox News called them, I think, "fin tops" and had an animation showing which part was which. It didn't look like any of the six fittings were to blame for the problem, even the one that was repaired 13 years ago. But as everyone keeps reminding us, the investigation isn't over and it doesn't seem from day to day that even the government has its story straight---except that it keeps falling all over itself "discounting the possibility of terrorism." We'll see. More than simply the health of the airline industry and general economy could be at stake in this investigation---the people's faith in the government could be undermined by the way this investigation is handled. An economic downturn isn't forever, and we'll recover from this recession, no doubt about it. But let a government squander its people's trust in it and it may have a hard time regaining legitimacy in the people's eyes.

[calvin sun]

No defense intended. What I'm saying is the following:

A "normal" plane is unaffected by .8g.

But a plane with a pre-existing tail problem (loose bolt either accidental OR deliberate) has the tail fall off, with disaster to follow.

Seems quite likely to me. The question is, how did the tail get loose?

[jonathonandjennifer]

But a plane with a pre-existing tail problem (loose bolt either accidental OR deliberate) has the tail fall off, with disaster to follow.
Seems quite likely to me. The question is, how did the tail get loose?,

Well, in spite of being a bit of a "conspiracy buff", I'm now beginning to accept the accident theory. HOWEVER, to beleive that a commercial airliner could be in such pathetic condition that it falls apart in wake turbulence gives me zero confidence in the safety of air travel.