The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Florida Learjet crash investigators dig up engine piece after pilots warned of rough weather ahead
NTSB crews recovered part of an engine from the Learjet 60 crash site in Greenacres, Florida, as the probe focuses on icing and turbulence reports.
A portion of an engine has been recovered from the Learjet that crashed in Greenacres, Florida, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators began excavating the site after utility work cleared water and other hazards, with the recovery announced a day later.
The Learjet 60 departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport near 10:37 a.m. on Sunday, en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The aircraft went down in Palm Beach County just before 1 p.m., resulting in the deaths of all nine people aboard.
In addition to the engine fragment, officials noted debris on the roofs of nearby homes and buildings. Earlier in the week, the left tail elevator was recovered in three pieces, one of which traveled nearly four miles from the crash site.
Weather is a central focus of the investigation, with officials saying heavy rain and thunderstorms were affecting South Florida at the time and that icing and turbulence were reported by the crew as conditions deteriorated. The crew had been directed to a waypoint near Naples, Florida, but deviated toward Palm Beach County amid worsening weather.
The jet reportedly carried a cockpit voice recorder, but investigators have not located it yet and cannot confirm it was on board at the time of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board emphasizes that even small pieces of wreckage can provide critical clues to determine what happened.