Also, about the found flap's piston extended 12cm, let's not forget Northwest's investigation:
"The two actuators of the inboard flap section remained attached to a 16-foot-long inboard section of the left wing which was found about 2,800 feet beyond the initial impact point.
When first examined, both actuators were extended 16.3 inches when measured between their attachment point to the airplane structure. However, the inboard flap sections of the two actuators exhibited a dirt pattern on both the actuator housing and the rod end with clean piston rod exposed between the housing and rod end. When the actuator rod was positioned so that the dirt areas were continuous, the actuator measured 13 inches between its attachment points. This measurement corresponds to the flap retracted position."
Of course, who knows what piston exactly they are taling about, etc. That's why the CIAIAC, when mentioning something like this, should be more specific as to what piston they are referring to.
PD: Sorry for the off-topics. We are obviously just chatting here, patiently waiting until more of those "official" news bits are given to continue our main discussion.
And thank you grebllaw123d for your answer. Appreciate it.
Last edited by justme69; 20th Sep 2008 at 18:07.