1.   And big planes must be able to withstand hitting an eight-pound bird at operating speed, with the strike coming on the windshield or the tail assembly.

2.   It hit the tops of trees at the top of the peak, separating the tail assembly from the main part of the airplane.

3.   Sure, fanatical-terrorist-type fighter pilots using air-to-air missiles have shattered its tail assembly, but the plane senses there is a master in the cockpit.

4.   Their wings are made in Britain, their bodies in Germany and parts of their tail assemblies in Spain.

5.   To compensate, NTSB officials said, the pilot may push the rudder back in the other direction, putting too much strain on the tail assembly.

6.   Investigators have focused on what caused the tail assembly to shear off cleanly as the flight left for the Dominican Republic.

7.   It was a major blow to Northrop, which made fuselages, tail assemblies and other components for the aircraft.

8.   Several aviation experts have suggested that there was some unseen weakness in the tail assembly.

9.   The latest problem found at Fort Bragg was a faulty tail rotor swashplate assembly.

10.   They are looking at the makeup of the tail as well as whether turbulence from another jet could have caused the tail assembly to break free.