Well... after the recent news article on AVWeb with the A-310 that lost it's rudder, and the earlier crash in 2001 that is mentioned in the article on the Myth of Manuevering Speed.... it brings to mind one very nagging topic for discussion.... that of possible flutter from the design and lack of horizontal tolerance load of the materials being used.....

Just wondering if anyone else had these same thoughts. The recent rudder loss was a composite material, and the loss in 2001 of the entire Vertical Stabilizer was likewise to a composite material.

Either Airbus has some manufacturing problems with their composites, or design loads are being mistated, or the have a flutter problem that didn't show up in windtunnel testing.... or ALL of the above!

This latest incident was less of a problem than the 2001 crash, as the plane landed safely... but it's too coincidental, and I think some hard questions need to be asked of Airbus now.

Just my thoughts.... anyone care to join in the fray on this?