Is the A300-600 the only Airbus that has it's tail made of a non-metalic composite or is that what Airbus uses on all of it's planes? Roger James wrote: > Airbus jets to undergo inspections > By Alan Levin, USA TODAY > > WASHINGTON =97 The Federal Aviation Administration will order inspections of= > =20 > some Airbus A300 jets after investigators probing last November's American= > =20 > Airlines crash in New York found a damaged tail fin on another A300,=20 > officials said Monday. American Airlines Flight 587 crashed Nov. 12 after=20 > the A300's rudder moved violently back and forth, according to the=20 > National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The jet's 27-foot vertical=20 > tail fin tore loose from the fuselage, and the jet plunged into a New York= > =20 > City neighborhood. The crash killed 265 people. Inspections of another=20 > American A300 last week uncovered damage to one of the six structures that= > =20 > attach the tail fin to the fuselage, the NTSB announced Monday. The jet=20 > experienced sharp rudder swings during an incident in 1997. The rudder is a= > =20 > panel attached to the rear of the vertical tail fin that moves the jet's=20 > nose to the right or left. > > In that incident, the A300 went out of control because pilots allowed it to= > =20 > get too slow, the NTSB found. The jet plunged 3,000 feet in about 30=20 > seconds. As the pilots attempted to regain control, they repeatedly moved=20 > the rudder back and forth. One person aboard the jet suffered a broken leg.= > =20 > The jet has flown without any apparent problems since then. Several sources= > =20 > familiar with the investigation said the damage did not appear to be so=20 > severe that the jet was unsafe. But the discovery raises questions about=20 > whether undetected damage could be present on other jets. It also confirms= > =20 > the NTSB's concerns that strong rudder movements can damage tail fins on=20 > jets. The FAA and Airbus will comb through records of incidents on A300=20 > jets and inspect the tail fins of any jet that experienced severe rudder=20 > movements, an FAA spokeswoman said. At least two A300s owned by Fed Ex will= > =20 > be among those inspected, sources said. American, FedEx and UPS are the=20 > only U.S. carriers to fly the A300. > The NTSB has not determined what caused the tail fin to break on Flight 587= > =20 > in November. > > The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: > Roj (Roger James) > > *************************************************** > escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca > yahoo email: mailto:triniroj@yahoo.com > Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com > CBSC Group on Yahoo: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribsocabrass > CBSC Website > http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeansocabrassconnection/ > ******************************************************* > Steel Expressions Orch > http://www.escape.ca/~ejames/se/ > email #1: mailto:steelexpressions@yahoo.com > email #2: mailto:steelexpressions@home.com > ******************************************************* > The Trinbago Site of the Week: > (TCL) http://www.tclgroup.com/ > (TCL Group of Companies) > courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory > Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com > TnT Web Directory: http://195.224.187.36/ > *********************************************************