[Publius6961]

The crew of a doomed American Airlines jetliner apparently was unaware the tail fin had fallen off as they

I could tell this would be an authoritative article after reading this.
Have Americans been dumbed down to the point where they (in addition to the author) is unfamiliar with the common word: "rudder"?

[The_Victor]

Actually, the component name you want is "vertical stabilizer." The rudder is the control surface (the part that moves) in the vertical stabilizer. But, you are right in that the author has chosen his words poorly with regard to the actual aircraft part definitions.

[willyone]

Rudder and tail fin are not the same thing. Check it out. And actually it is called the vertical stabilizer of which the rudder is a part.