Oh dear, pita bread is at it again! Major operators around the world have been landing 330's and 340's flap 3 for years with no problems. And where did the words tail strike come into this discussion?
This landing was carried out by the SO in less than optimum conditions and should not have done so. Pre-empting the investigation, I would suggest it had nothing whatsoever to do with the flap configuration. It was the direct responsibility of the trainer and it should remain as that! An SO does not have the experience to land in a dust storm and the trainer should be able to recognize a rapid sink rate near the ground before it develops into a crash landing.
If an aircraft of any sort landed at 8.5g there would be a smoking hole. Our friend who started the post was referring to the richter scale as was obvious by the tongue-in-cheek title.
The word around the office is that it was about 2.8g and why would Airbus be responsible for replacing the gear? You crash 'em; you fix 'em.
GB