According to a new draft report published by Federal investigators this week, a lack of grease on a tail fin mechanism caused the January 2000 Alaska Airlines crash that killed 88 people. The report, which will be reviewed Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board, says insufficient lubrication of the tail fin component, known as the jackscrew, caused the plane's stabilizer to break off. Flight 261 plunged into the Pacific Ocean shortly after taking off from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in route to San Francisco and Seattle.

Investigators also criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for inadequate oversight of the airlines' maintenance program before the accident. Alaska and Boeing, which bought the plane's manufacturer, McDonnell Douglas, in 1997, are facing dozens of wrongful death lawsuits that are set to begin trial in April.