Originally Posted by
FlexibleResponse
The jackscrew is attached to the stabilizer to change the datum trim point of the stabilizer.
Yes, the THS/jackscrew combination will be familiar, of course, to anyone who has flown or worked on types such as the 737 or DC-9 over the past 50+ years.
In the wreckage photos, the jackscrew is no longer attached.
The question that will need to be answered is whether this failure of attachment happened pre or post-impact.
That is, did impact forces sever the attachment, or did the attachment structurally fail prior to impact and let the stabilizer float aerodynamically free?
I doubt that particular question will take very long to answer.
It would be very strange had the jackscrew remained attached to what's left of the stab following an impact like the one that occurred. Occam's Razor applies.