MrSnuggles:
Remember, in the 587 accident the rudder managed to snap off the tail fin bolted to the fuselage with conventional metal materials, just as in any airplane. It wasn't so much a composite failure as it was a metal material overload on the tail fin bolts.
I don't think this is quite accurate. I happened to watch the "DISCOVERY" documentary about the 587 crash yesterday and an NTSB investigator showed that the laminated composite 'eye-holes' on the tailfin mountings failed when they were subjected to a side load of about 250,000 lbs. (The maximum design load was stated to be 100,000 lbs). The NTSB actually tested to destruction a sample tailfin supplied by Airbus. There was no mention in the programme of the steel bolts which go through the tailfin mountings having failed.