The last I read of the NTSB report of AA 587, the probable cause of the crash is still not determined. The NTSB knows the vertical stablizer departed the aircraft, yet the cause of the crash is still not determined.

The B-52 incident that was posted earlier is just one example. The are a number of WWII pictures of B-17's that returned to base with the entire rudder shot off along with large parts of a wing, but the crew was still able to get it back on the ground.

There was a previous posting of the JAL 747 that crashed outside of Tokyo as an example. That aircraft had a failure of the aft pressure bulkhead. The resulting explosion took out all 4 hydraulic systems. That's why that aircraft ultimately crashed.

Carl