Originally Posted by
bearfoil
The report would have us believe they were washed off in the impact with the Ocean.
That's not what the reports say. According to report #1, the vertical tail was ripped off in a forward motion by inertia forces:
The distortions of the frames showed that they broke during a forward motion
with a slight twisting component towards the left.
and report #2:
The deformations of the frames were probably the consequence of the water
braking the aircraft’s forward movement.
HN39