The pilot flying was officially blamed, but this was due to enormous pressure from airbus and the Europeans. The plane ran through some rough turbulance shortly after takeoff and the pilot pressed the rudder pedals to compensate. The investigation found that he pressed them so hard and often that part of the tail fell off and thus it was his fault. BTW, his use of the rudder was part of his training and was only changed after the accident.
I can only hope that if I get into an emergency braking situation in my car, and push the brake really hard, that the car doesn’t come apart because I’m too “aggressive.”
There’s a postscript to this too - after 11 years, the FAA and Euro regulators decided changes needed to be made to the airbus A300. A warning light was put in to warn pilots if they were using the rudder too aggressively.
Thanks. As I recall he cycled the rudder several times in rapid secession.