Hopefully I have engaged my brain now.
So this *was* the ultimate load test, and the airframe gave way at 99% — in what must be a fairly unusual way? Is the object of this test to test the wings alone or the fuselage and wings as a unit? My introduction to the test was the 777 documentary way back and I’ve always assumed only the wings were being tested.
It must be a safe bet that Boeing didn’t expect the fuselage to fail, but is it possible that the failure is an artefact of the test?