Will Fraser,AA587 showed that even a conventional aircraft such as an A300 cannot be flown without a vertical stabilizer and the only case that I know of a jet aircraft that survived the loss of a VS was a B-52 that lost the majority of its VS in severe CAT in 1964.
The problem with AA587 ws the use of full or nearly full opposite rudder inputs.To quote from A300-600 fcom bulletin 827/1 "Such inputs can lead to loads higher than the limit,or possibly the ultimate loads and can result in structural damage or failure".
Last edited by tubby linton; 8th Jun 2009 at 21:01.