Important pieces of the doomed Learjet that crashed Sunday in Florida, killing all nine people on board, had already separated from the aircraft before it hit the ground, investigators said Tuesday.
The plane's left elevator, a tail component used for controlling the aircraft's pitch, was discovered in three pieces scattered across an area ranging from 1.3 to 3.8 miles from the main crash site, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Thomas B. Chapman. He spoke at a press conference.
"It tells us that at least some components, some pieces of the aircraft, important pieces of the aircraft separated before the impact," Chapman stated. He added that the exact cause of the separation and its role in the crash remain under investigation. "What that means exactly in terms of what caused the aircraft to lose control, or whether the loss of this piece was a result of the forces on the aircraft, we don’t know yet. It’s going to take some more analysis."
The Learjet was en route from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it crashed into a South Florida neighborhood. The incident resulted in a large fireball and claimed the lives of all nine individuals on board, including the pilots and passengers, who were identified as a tech entrepreneur, his family, and their nanny.