[ChemistCat]

If there was something very wrong with the vertical stabilizer, sure a .3g wake turbulence could have caused the crash. So could just being in the air for three minutes. That thing came off CLEANLY. That is not something that would have happened if it had been properly bolted down.

[LarryLied]

That is not something that would have happened if it had been properly bolted down.

Almost certain I heard someone say the bolts connecting the body of the aircraft to the tail are fine. The break occurred above them.

[eno_]

if it had been properly bolted down.

It was reported the tail broke off above the attachment points, with the carbon fiber comoposite looking like "wheat." That stuff is massively strong. Take an old carbon fiber composite tennis raquet and try to break it. Good luck! 0.8g force? That's 20% less than you are stressing your butt right this minute, and it's not held on with carbon fiber. Something is not right. But what?

[Faith-Hope]

It really bugs me to look at that tail section and see how cleanly it came off of the plane. The plane was just past the runway when the darn thing just dropped off. Looks like someone took a saw to it.

[Ross Amann]

Excellent pictures of bolts holding tail on in today's NY Times. Some bolts intact with no remnant of tail around them; others have small sections of tail.

I am far from an expert but it really looks like a failure of the composite material at the base of the tail. There is no way a bomb or missile would cause failure so close to the plane's body - with no damage to the main plane body.

It may have happened during a wake event, but I would expect the forces encountered to be within design specifications - which is why I term it a "failure." Obviously, Airbus will catch a load of sh*t over this.

If anyone remembers, I predicted tail inspections for all A-300s two days ago - American had already started this at the time and the NTSB is in the process of ordering them now.

[VOA]

That thing came off CLEANLY.
That is not something that would have happened if it had been properly bolted down.

I don't know if it's penetrated most of the media...but on Thursday, the Left Angeles Times
reported that when this plane was delivered one of the six attachment points for the tail
fin was coming loose...and was "fixed".
PS: I also noticed that the place parts are being sent for real inspection is at
AA facilities in Tulsa!

I sense politics...the NTSB can't just come out and speak the whole truth about
a plane built by a consortium of European countries...when we need help
from many of them in fighting this latest war--just my little conspiracy theory thought.