The AA acident was not the only occasion that a rudder separation was a major factor in an accident. There was another incident when a significant section of either rudder or V/S come off on an A310 somewhere in the Caribbean. What was of interest in the photo of the AF V/S section is that it was not attached to anything else. This leads naturally to speculation (which is what all these posts are) that the V/S may have separated from the rest of the aircraft. Its obvious that there is much more that needs to be looked at but I could well imagine that the investigators will be instigating another line of investigation.