Doubt RAT deployment
Let me preface this by acknowledging that I'm neither a pilot nor a regular on PPRuNe. I'm an aviation enthusiast who came here for the first time today to see what was being discussed.
It's worth noting that I found my way here because the Wikipedia page for BA38 now includes a link to this discussion forum - this is, no doubt, the reason for the heavy traffic that's causing server overload. Somebody might want to edit the article to remove that link, but I'll leave that up to PPRuNe regulars to decide.
Despite my novice background, I'm quite confident in stating that the RAT could not have been deployed prior to the landing. Had it been deployed, it certainly would have sheared off during the roll-out (slide-out?) on the turf. There's simply no way that the RAT was able to withstand the friction that tore away the MLG.
Further, if you look at the previously posted photo of the RAT, it's obvious that the fuselage damage around that area would have left the RAT exposed. Even its final position suggests that it "fell" out of its stowed position late in the sequence of events.
I commend the highly competent crew for putting this bird down safely, and I'll also add my praise to Boeing for designing an aircraft that is not only fail-safe (evidenced by over a decade without a fatality - what other commercial craft can make that claim?), but also remarkably rugged.