Some misinformation was posted earlier.
Posted by “AA73”, slot #95, dated 29Oct, re’ AA587 12Nov01:
“... there is no hard evidence that the rudder reversal was caused by the f/o. all the dfdr records is rudder movement, NOT rudder pedal movement....”
Posted by “KC135777” in slot #105, date 29Oct:
“... what was recorded on AA587's FDR was NOT caused by the feet of FO ...”
Hmmmm, No
Pedal Position recorded????
That item (Pedal Position) was
surprise for everyone: the
sensors for Pedal Position had been retrofitted prior to that mishap; from AAR-04/04, pgs 3-6 [the Pedal Position is plotted on page 6]
“...Between 0915:36 and 0915:41,the FDR recorded movement of the control column, control wheel, and rudder pedals. Specifically ... the rudder pedals movedfrom about 0.1 inch left (the starting point for the pedals) to about 0.1 inch right and 0.2 inch left ... According to the FDR, the airplane’s bank angle moved from 23º to 25º left wing down at 0915:51.5, the control wheel moved to 64º right at 0915:51.5, and the rudder pedals moved to 1.7 inches right at 0915:51.9.... According to the FDR, the rudder pedals moved
from 1.7 inches right
to 1.7 inches left,
1.7 inches right, 2.0 inches right,
2.4 inches left, and
1.3 inches right
between 0915:52 and 0915:58.5....”
3.2 Probable Cause
... Safety Board determines ... probable cause of this accident was the in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by the first officer’s unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs. Contributing to these rudder pedal inputs were characteristics of the Airbus A300-600 rudder system design and elements of the American Airlines Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering Program.