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Critical clue buried in Florida Learjet crash crater could finally explain why jet plunged 35,000ft
Investigators probing the fatal Florida Learjet crash are hoping the huge crater left at the impact site will reveal what caused the aircraft to plummet 35,000ft before bursting into flames.
The crash claimed the lives of all nine people on board on Sunday, with authorities focusing on recovering wreckage from deep inside the enormous hole left in a Palm Beach County highway.
Investigators work to locate key clue in wreckage
Investigators have already located sections of the aircraft's tail, with debris found in three separate areas almost four miles from where the jet came down, but the wreckage buried within the crater could hold even more significant answers, potentially helping establish when the plane began breaking apart.
"We expect to find critical airplane components within the crater," National Transportation Safety Board investigator Tom Chapman stated.
One of the biggest unanswered questions is whether the tail sections broke away during the aircraft's descent or whether their separation was part of what caused the disaster.
Former NTSB managing director Peter Goelz told CNN that investigators may still find further pieces of the aircraft in the coming days.
"There have been a number of investigations I can recall where pieces did show up a week or 10 days after the accident," he explained.
"Every piece is critical. But at 35,000ft... you're talking about a very wide area to search."
Among the debris recovered so far is most of the tail's left elevator, a vital component used to control the aircraft's pitch as it climbs and descends.
Investigators will have to establish whether the elevator came away during the dramatic plunge or had already detached, potentially triggering the loss of control, with officials indicating that without a functioning elevator, even an experienced flight crew would have struggled to recover the aircraft from such a steep descent.
The search is also continuing for the jet's black box, which contains the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Both could provide crucial information about what happened in the moments before impact.
The devastating incident
The Learjet 60 had been traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it crashed, carrying technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson and his family.
The aircraft reportedly plunged 35,000ft before hitting the ground and bursting into flames, leaving no survivors.
Reports suggest the crew encountered turbulence and icy conditions while flying through a storm system.
Justin Crabbe, an experienced pilot and head of charter-flight booking platform Jettly, questioned the decision to continue through the weather.
"They certainly should have gone around [the storm]."
Those killed included 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, pilot Jeff Gregory and caretaker Anita Maria Cetina.
The passengers were Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their two young children, and friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.