I'm still torn on this whole rudder overstress/brings the tail off thing. Perhaps it's partly that I'm not a big fan of Airbus, however - here is something to ponder.
http://www.atwonline.com/indexfull.cfm?newsid=4734
US National Transportation Safety Board in a letter to the DGAC has recommended that the French aviation regulator "review the options for modifying the A300-600 and the A310 to provide increased protection from potentially hazardous rudder inputs at high airspeeds,"
This action flows out of the Safety Board's investigation of the Nov. 12, 2001, crash of an American Airlines A300-600R that killed all 260 persons onboard as well as five people on the ground.
"excessive rudder pedal inputs by the first officer led to the separation of the vertical stabilizer and the crash of the aircraft, it also found that the A300-600 rudder design was a contributing factor to the catastrophe"