Tail part found miles from crash
NTSB officials say debris discovery confirms the aircraft was disintegrating before it hit the ground in Florida.
By Alexei Brooks ·
A private jet crashed in Florida on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people on board. Investigators confirmed Tuesday that the aircraft was breaking apart before it struck the ground. They found a major component of the tail nearly four miles from the impact site in Greenacres.
National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said the left elevator was recovered in three separate pieces. The fragments were located between 1.3 miles and 3.8 miles from the crash site. Chapman explained that the elevator controls the plane's pitch. Without it intact, the pilot could not have pulled the jet out of its nosedive.
Chapman noted that the exact cause of the loss of control remains unknown. He stated that the discovery points investigators toward other areas of focus. He described the finding as very important evidence. The NTSB plans to access the crater on Wednesday to retrieve critical components.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti told The Associated Press that the broken pieces were likely a byproduct of the nosedive rather than the cause. He reasoned that if the parts had detached at high altitude, they would have traveled much farther. Their proximity to the crash site suggests they fell off closer to the ground.
The Learjet 60 departed from Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas. The victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children. Crew member Jeff Gregory, 55, lived in the Philadelphia suburbs. His voice was heard reciting the Lord's Prayer during the co-pilot's final radio transmissions.
Co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras reported ice and turbulence to air traffic control in the final minutes. She stated the plane was thrown up and down by more than 700 feet. She told controllers they were going to crash into the ground while descending at a rate of more than 20,000 feet per minute. Her last words were that they were out of time.
About 600 nearby residents remain displaced by the crash. Only one person on the ground was reported injured. Thomas Noetzel, director of operations for Upper Jets, organized a fundraiser for Gregory's family. A preliminary NTSB report is expected in about a month.
