The 319/320/321's share the same material composition, or at least USA Today reported when noting that UAL was inspecting their 319/320 fleet. The design is considerably different, of course. I think the 330/340's, since they are 300 based fuselage's also likely share the same tail, but evolution probably changed it significantly. Matthew > -----Original Message----- > From: The Airline List [mailto:AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On > Behalf Of Mark Greenwood > Sent: March 12, 2002 7:22 PM > To: AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU > Subject: Re: Airbus jets to undergo inspections > > > 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/ > > ********************************************************* >