On television this morning, George Black of the NTSB said that the fracture of the vertical stabilizer appeared to be consistent with what might be seen as the result of a side load gust. The television showed close-up video of the stab being hoisted onto the dock and it did appear the fracture was on the left side (the side not visible in the page one photo) in a composite area (the bottom edge of the stab looked rather jagged). A meterials expert is to study the stabilizer in detail today.
The JAL 747 has been reported as being 7 to 8 miles ahead of AA 587. A preliminary analysis indicates that AA 587 was flying within the wake zone of the 747.
The flight data recorder was sufficiently damaged that it is being sent to the manufacturer for readout.
[ 14 November 2001: Message edited by: SaturnV ]