Hi Philip,
Why do you not believe the ATSB when they say that the damage was minor?
All said, it is minor damage on a 747. That structure at the back end of the aircraft is not pressurised and is not really structural. Ultimately it is an aluminium cover for the APU.
If another departing aircraft had not mentioned it to ATC the aircraft would have flown to its destination without any problems and then the defect would be picked up during the maintenance check there. (I said this earlier, I just noticed)
The ACARS that you are referring to states that there are loose floor panels not seats. Not related to the tail strike me thinks. The pax, pilots and cabin crew would have been totally oblivious to the tail strike. For the amount of damage it would have been a millisecond touch, not audible over the engine noise.
What is interesting though is if you look at the pictures that Tony G took there is not a moderate aileron input as suggested by the ATSB report. It must have been before the photos were taken. I wonder if the ATSB was aware of the existence of the photos?
