At 9:15:36, when the aircraft hit wake turbulence from the JAL flight just in front of it. The first officer attempted to stabilise the aircraft with alternating aggressive rudder inputs from left to right. This continued for at least 20 seconds, until 9:15:56, when the stress of the first officer’s repeated rudder movements caused the lugs that attached the vertical stabilizer and rudder to break. The stabilizer separated from the aircraft and fell into Jamaica Bay, about one mile north of the main wreckage site.