Crucial parts of the Learjet 60 that crashed in Florida, killing seven people, have been found up to three miles from the accident site, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Officials said the discovery of these detached control parts indicates they separated from the aircraft before the crash. "Knowing that it was lost is a very important piece of evidence in terms of pointing us towards other things to investigate," NTSB official Michael Chapman stated. Investigators are working to determine whether the loss of the left elevator caused the plane to nosedive or if external forces on the aircraft led to the separation.
The Learjet was en route to the Bahamas from Austin, Texas, when it plunged into a highway in Palm Beach, Florida, and exploded on impact. Air traffic control audio recordings revealed the pilots reported encountering moderate turbulence and managing ice, with the plane "picking up precipitation" and needing to climb.
Moments later, the same voice reported the plane was descending at a rate of 10,000 feet per minute. An emergency was declared as the pilots could be heard shouting about an "overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute" before stating, "we are going to crash into the ground."
The NTSB plans to investigate the role weather played in the incident. Access to the wreckage was hampered by the significant crater created by the jet on the roadway. Chapman noted that the force of the impact severely damaged the wreckage, complicating the recovery and analysis.
Seven passengers died in the crash: tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma, four, and Charlie, two, as well as family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and nanny Anita Maria Cetina. The pilot was identified as 55-year-old Jeffrey Gregory, with 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras reported as the co-pilot.