six7driver:
Regardless, I'm sure this incident will highly interest those that were involved with AA587 investigation.
Again I beg to differ. 587 involved a wake turbulence encounter, inappropriate control inputs (perhaps exacerbated by the 'on/off' nature of the Airbus rudder at the speeds involved), leading to overstress and failure of the entire vertical fin.
To my knowledge none of these factors are involved in the present case; no-one has suggested there were any relevant control inputs, overstress, or any form of upset or departure from controlled flight. The Transat investigation will have to discover why the rudder fell off during an otherwise unremarkable (so far as we know) flight!
R1