NTSB Releases Photos of Gimbal Nut Recovered from Flight 261

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the following photographs of the gimbal nut recovered from Alaska Airlines Flight 261. The photographs show the nut attached to the front spar of the stabilizer from the aircraft's tail and in close-up.

NTSB investigators are trying to determine whether damage to the gimbal nut and associated jackscrew happened before or after the accident (see Inspections Ordered for U.S. MD-80 Fleet). The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N963AS) crashed off the coast of California on Jan. 31 while en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco, CA. All 83 passengers and five crew members on board were killed.