Rollingthunder, I think the poster meant the Air Transat case, where the entire rudder broke off while cruising on autopilot. That was in 2005, long after AA587.
AirDisaster.Com Accident Photo: Air Transat A310-308 C-GPAT
This was one of two incidents (the other was a Fedex aircraft) that finally solved the A300/310 rudder problem; which was found to have been not any basic weakness but delamination caused by leaked or spilled hydraulic fluid.