Or the inverse: engine falls off which creates a large yaw moment which
rotates the vertical stab into the oncoming air which may have knocked off
the vertical stab.
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Why so shy?

ALL vertical stabs on multi eng A/C are designed to proved more than enough
lateral load to cope with a max thrust engine and a dragging engine on the
opposite side, as part of the normal flying loads.  This is nowhere near
enough to tear it off if the vert stab was structurally normal.  These
things are not that flimsy by a long shot.

OTOH, flutter creates loads MANY (10X?) times normal design aero loads.
Single engine flight is absolutely normal for the airframe and causes no
loads that
were not part of the design of the airframe.  Flutter is NOT survivable in
almost
all cases.  Flutter nearly always results in catastrophic structural failure
and
the aircraft arriving at the ground in many pieces. The few cases of A/C
surviving serious flutter (as opposed to nibbling at the edge of flutter during
test flights with control taps) have mostly been composite aircraft because
of the higher internal damping in the composite structure, compared to the
very low internal damping of aluminum structures.  Compare the sound of
a wooden bat on a ball and an aluminum bat on a ball.  Flutter is very, very
bad.  Single engine flight is nearly normal.

Bill Freeman
Long EZ builder & pilot
BSME, MSME
EAA Technical Counselor

If the rudder structural stiffness was damaged, in prior severe turbulence or there was some
other deterioration of the structure, flutter could be more likely.

Paul Lamar
 
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