The latest find is the vertical stabilizer from the Airbus tail section. The original paint is still visible, and it apparently is not burned. The damage is described as “a lateral fracture” the examination of which will provide clues to the force that caused the break.
The latest in a series of theories conjectures that the break could be the result of structural stress due to the plane’s traveling too fast due to frozen pitot tubes that didn’t correctly gauge the planes rate of speed.
A total of 24 bodies have been found of the original 228.
The black box is missing. The general area of the crash is up to a mile and a half deep, and the listening devices provided by the US will probably not be in use until Thursday.
Lufthansa flight LH-438 had to return and make an emergency landing in Frankfurt, Germany, on August 20th.
AirAsia India flight I5-541 had to reject takeoff from Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, on July 15th.
Air France flight AF-166 made an emergency landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, on December 12th.