The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
NTSB Finds Learjet Elevator Pieces Miles From Impact Site
Investigators confirmed the control surface separated before impact, but its role in the fatal crash remains undetermined.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed Tuesday that portions of the left elevator from a Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday were found as far as 3.8 miles from the accident site. NTSB member Tom Chapman said investigators located most of the elevator in three pieces between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the main wreckage. The discovery confirms that at least part of the aircraft’s tail separated before impact.
Elevator Separation Confirmed
Chapman said investigators will examine whether the elevator’s separation contributed to the accident or resulted from forces acting on the aircraft during its descent.
“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,” Chapman said during Tuesday’s briefing. “So it’s going to take some more analysis. But finding that piece is a very, very significant bit of evidence.”
The Learjet was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when its crew reported icing and moderate turbulence before declaring an emergency. Chapman said weather remains a key focus of the investigation.
Recovery Efforts Continue
Investigators are continuing to recover additional wreckage from the water-filled impact crater near a roadway at the accident site. Chapman said crews removed an unstable utility pole Tuesday morning, allowing work to begin on stabilizing the crater.
The NTSB expects access to the area as early as Wednesday and anticipates finding critical aircraft components beneath the water. Heavy rain and severe storms have complicated recovery efforts, while much of the wreckage recovered so far consists of small fragments that investigators have not yet identified.
As the agency awaits further examination of the impact crater, it has begun to receive recordings and accounts from inidividuals who said they witnessed the accident.
“I understand that we’ve now received dash cam footage and multiple eyewitness accounts that will help us better understand the condition of the aircraft and the circumstances of the crash,” Chapman said.
Investigators are also reviewing maintenance and crew records for the Learjet as they work to reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments.