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 Figure 8b. Closer view of the wreckage from Korean Air flight 801 and the NIMITZ VOR.

The cockpit section was located down an embankment beyond the large portion of the forward fuselage. The airplane's VHF [very high frequency] navigational radio control panels were recovered from the wreckage. To determine which radio frequencies were selected on both the captain's and the first officer's control panels in the cockpit, an examination was conducted on October 2, 1997, under the Safety Board's supervision, at Pacific Aero Tech, an FAA-approved repair station for the control panel, in Kent, Washington. The captain's frequency selector was found tuned to 110.30 megahertz (MHz), which was the Guam localizer frequency. The captain's control panel had been damaged by impact forces, and the frequency depicted was locked into a position that could not be changed by turning the frequency selector knob. The first officer's control panel selector knob could be easily rotated, and the frequency selector was found tuned to 116.60 MHz, which did not correspond to any voice or navigation frequencies at Guam.

The cockpit section was found separated about station 400. Most of the aft nose wheel well structure (nose gear attachment point) was relatively intact with the trunnion