Originally Posted by
Teldorserious
Well I am not buying it that airliners are so weak that some pilot or terrorist could intentionaly wiggle the tail loose.
So, how do you explain this:
CAUTION
The sudden revered of rudder direction at high rudder deflections, due to improper rudder application or abrupt release, can result in overstressing the vertical fin. This condition could be brought about during recovery attempts from a flight condition induced by a lateral control malfunction.
This is a verbatim quote from a revision to the US Air Force's KC-135 operating manual.
The KC-135 is a *Boeing*
This revision was published on 30 June 2000.
That was more than a year before the AA587 crash.