hello vizcaya,
no, in a previous (night) picture, you can clearly see the rudder in the centered position. without hydraulic pressure a x-wind from the right can blow the rudder to the left as shown in the picture you're referring to. anyway rudder authority is only 7° left/right of center for nosewheelsteering with the nosewheel tiller overriding the rudderpedals commands. during normal takeoffs & landings rudder aerodynamic authority is more than adequate for directional control, nosewheelsteering is used only at very low speeds.
i am indeed very curious to know what exactly happened. wouldn't be surpriced it might be a wake up call for everybody, manufacturer, authorities & aircrews alike. maybe murphy struck again? will we ever tame that bloke?
seems the plane had hydraulic problems before &/or after coming to a halt: emergency evacuation procedures call among other things to retract the speedbrakes but one of the pictures shows clearly not all ground & flight spoilers have retracted.
Last edited by blackmail; 7th December 2004 at 08:24.