NTSB: Palm Beach County Jet Debris Found 3.8 Miles From Impact Site
NTSB says debris from the Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, killing nine, was found up to 3.8 miles away; the tail elevator broke into three parts.
The story in focus
NTSB investigators said debris from the Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County on Sunday, killing nine people, was found as far as 3.8 miles from the impact site, and that the tail elevator broke into three parts, CBS News reported.
- Nine people died when the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County on Sunday.
- NTSB member Tom Chapman said parts were found as far as 3.8 miles from the impact site.
- The tail elevator broke into three parts, which Chapman said would have prevented pulling out of a nosedive.
- The co-pilot reported icing and severe turbulence of more than 700 feet before declaring mayday.
Debris spread indicates breakup, NTSB says
Investigators said Tuesday that pieces of the jet were found nearly 4 miles from the crash site, with parts located as far as 3.8 miles from the impact crater. National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said the distance suggested the plane was likely breaking up before it hit the ground.
Chapman said the tail's elevator was broken into three parts. He said that without an intact elevator, which controls pitch, the pilots would not have been able to pull the Learjet 60 out of its nosedive.
Cockpit warnings before the crash
The co-pilot, 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, told air traffic controllers minutes before the crash that ice was accumulating and that severe turbulence had moved the plane up and down by more than 700 feet, according to CBS News. She then declared mayday.
Audio recordings captured increasingly alarmed messages as the jet rapidly descended. The aircraft, traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, crashed and erupted in a fireball.
The passengers who died were identified as Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, a couple from Austin; their children Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2; Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina. The other pilot was identified as Jeff Gregory, 55.
How far from the crash site were pieces of the Learjet 60 found?
NTSB member Tom Chapman said parts of the plane were found as far as 3.8 miles from the impact site, which investigators said indicated the aircraft was likely breaking up before it hit the ground.
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