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Old 8th Apr 2011, 15:09
  #3192 (permalink)  
bearfoil
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Machaca - Pursuant to your excellent photos, I think it important to explain why some here are curious about inflight loss of VS. The two lug pairs and supports are from the front (1,2) of the attach, and show fracture due to rollover of the VS itself (side to side). The front lug has pulled with it the hoop structure attendant to the Aft Pressure bulkhead. The bulkhead is CFRP, and responsible for the integrity of the pressure vessel. If the VS separated at the outset of the loss of control, cabin pressure would be lost, and since the disc is not designed for rupture, it is reasonable to assume that some contents of the cabin may have spilled at altitude. This would describe some of the reports of flail and rupture to soft tissue evident in the victims. Of note also are the failure signatures of the rivets holding the lug bracket to the hoops. There is no longitudinal deflection of the hoop forward, which would be evident if the VS had rolled off the fuselage forward. In fact, the fractures suggest more than one episode of stress leading to complete failure. The composite Fin tabs have fractured in sideways aspect, and show no separation one from the other, a condition that would be expected had the single jolt theory of BEA occurred. A similar failure occurred on a 747 in Japan, leading to loss of the a/c due flight w/o Vertical Stabilizer.

Know that this is but a theory, and bears no malice toward aircraft or investigation, simply a recognition of upset leading to structure failure and loss.