Double Bogie,
At risk of descending this thread into a downward spiral, please don't assume that all North Sea pilots think the silence is wrong and that the tail didn't come off in flight - (I AM NOT SAYING IT DID OR IT DIDN'T - I DON'T CARE AT THIS STAGE). I am quite happy to give the powers that be time to work it out and tell us when they are ready.
For those of us who fly in that environment, on that type else where and those that maintain it, it is time as professionals to look at all the maybes and do what we can to prevent something similar happening to us. It would be a shame to fixate on only one of the possible causes.