05-20-2016, 06:17 PM
(05-20-2016, 04:49 PM)blueberryhill Wrote: Zero mentions the rudder problem which caused more than one crash....With proper maintenance, this shouldn't happen, but even a loose screw can be the reason for a catastrophic event (usually coupled with pilot or instrument failure, etc..)
BBH, I remember 1 month after 911 a mysterious event happened to an Airbus leaving NYC and everybody swore it was more terrorism. It proved to be a tail broken off during take-off that made the plane unable to be controlled. I know Ski has mentioned that the Airbus uses 100% composite materials in their tail construction. Composite materials are more brittle and crack and break where metals would stretch and flex. The Airbus rudder is very sensitive to the commands of the pilot and it can over stress the integrity of the tail and possibly lead to catastrophic failure. I was on a flight where the cockpit crew disengaged the auto pilot near the end of our flight in preparation for landing and nearly turned the craft upside down counterclockwise and overcompensated and nearly flipped it upside down clockwise.
It's possible that the crew was preparing for landing, disconnected the auto-pilot, the pilot then over charged the rudder causing the craft to make a sudden left turn and then over compensated when trying to correct this and forced the plane to make a sudden and critical right turn stressing the plane beyond its limits. If the tail and rudder broke off the crew would lose control and the plane would spiral continuously right and fall to the ocean. The radar data supports this hypothesis.