[LibKill]

Videotape showed a large piece of something coming off the orbiter immediately prior to its mid-air breakup.

Right now, that's all we've got.

CONJECTURE about the tail coming off, based on dubious internet video interpretations is, well, next to quackery ...

I'm with you, we really don't know what happened. In sad truth, we may never know. The evidence has been scattered over two states and even if we found every last bit, it still may not answer the question, 'what happened'.

Such is life.

FReegards, FRiend.

[WFTR]

The evidence has been scattered over two states and even if we found every last bit, it still may not answer the question, 'what happened'.

To make matters worse, evidence of most metals failure may have burned. In analyzing common failures in industry, we look at the fracture surface. I doubt that any fracture surfaces survived the fall. We also look at the microstructure of the metal, but the heat will have changed the microstructures from what they were before the crash. Finding answers will be a long, hard job for the folks at NASA.

WFTR
Bill