Key parts of a Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, were found between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the crash site, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. Investigators believe the components may have separated from the aircraft before it hit the ground, killing all nine people on board on Sunday.
NTSB board member Tom Chapman said investigators recovered most of the jet’s left elevator, a tail control surface, in three pieces. The distance from the wreckage led officials to conclude that the parts fell off before impact, Chapman said, calling the finding important evidence for the investigation.
Investigators have not determined whether losing the elevator caused the aircraft to dive or whether forces acting on the plane caused the part to break away. Chapman also said the control surface may not have been effective at the speed the jet was travelling.
The Learjet was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it plunged onto a multi-lane highway and exploded. In air traffic control recordings, a voice from the cockpit reports moderate turbulence, says the crew is managing ice, and later reports precipitation and a need to climb. The recordings then capture reports of a rapid descent and an emergency declaration.
The NTSB plans to examine the role of weather in the crash. Chapman said the impact severely damaged the wreckage, while officials faced difficulties reaching it because the plane had created a large crater in the road.
The seven passengers were identified as tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and nanny Anita Maria Cetina. Media reports named the pilot as 55-year-old Jeffrey Gregory and the co-pilot as Nathalia Filgueiras, 20.
Sources: BBC News World.