RatherBeFlying:
In America's overly litigious society*, I expect plaintiffs' lawyers will try to make much of Airbus, after the near-crash of another AAL A300, writing a memo in 1997 assessing the likelihood of a fin failing when subjected to certain maneuver-induced loads and not sharing that assessment with anyone. If the Airbus spokesperson's statement is fairly reported, the memo was not shared because Airbus' participation in the 1997 post-incident investigation was confined to human factors; i.e., pilot performance.
* No better evidence of the unpredictable results that American courts and American juries can produce, amid their search for 'deep pockets' and a prevalent desire to generously compensate victims than the recent jury decision in a Los Angeles County Superior Court, in which Parker Hannefin was found solely responsible for the crash of SilkAir 185 because it had poorly manufactured a servo-control; a conclusion no other investigation into that crash reached.
ACBus1
I have not the time to search through the over 400 posts on PPRuNe on AA587, but I have a recollection that the fin from the AAL 1997 incident was pulled from that aircraft and subjected to destructive analysis as part of the AA587 investigation. However, I did a quick search through the the NTSB's extensive, albeit partial, list of exhibits related to AA587 and did not come across a reference to that. The NTSB web address is below.