Investigators have recovered part of an engine from the Learjet that crashed onto a Florida road, officials said.
Nine people were killed in the devastating accident on Sunday near West Palm Beach after the jet plunged tens of thousands of feet before erupting into a massive fireball and leaving a crater at the crash site.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday that crews excavating the area had located a “portion of one engine.”
“Debris has been found away from the impact location and also on the roofs of homes and buildings near the crash site,” the agency said in a post on X.
All wreckage recovered from the scene will be transported “to a secure location for further examination,” officials said.
The NTSB urged residents who discover aircraft debris to contact the agency and warned them not to “move, alter or dispose” of any pieces.
“Even small pieces of the wreckage may contain important evidence that could help investigators determine what happened,” the agency said.
Nine people died when the Learjet plunged tens of thousands of feet and exploded into a huge fireball near West Palm Beach on Sunday, leaving a large crater in the ground
The NTSB said Thursday that officials recovered a “portion of one engine” while excavating the crash site
Residents living near the crash site have described finding aircraft fragments around their homes. One suspected piece of the Learjet 60 crashed through the roof of Ana Escobar’s house.
The impact left a large hole, ripped insulation from the ceiling and allowed water to pour through the damaged roof.
Escobar told the outlet that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office collected the object as evidence.
Peter DiMaira, who lives about four miles from the crash site, believes he discovered part of the aircraft’s tail. The fragment could help investigators establish whether the jet began breaking apart before it hit the ground.
The NTSB also said it recovered three pieces of the jet’s left elevator, a control surface that helps the aircraft move up and down. The fragments were found between one and four miles from the crash site.
Investigators are working to determine why the business jet crashed while flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. The pilot, Jeffry Gregory, and co-pilot, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, were among those killed.
Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two, also died, according to a statement from the grieving family.
The children’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, was also killed.
Shortly before the Learjet erupted in a huge fireball, a suspected aircraft fragment crashed through Ana Escobar’s roof
The fragment left a large hole, tore insulation from the ceiling and allowed water to drip through the roof. The sheriff’s office collected it as evidence
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At a news conference Monday, NTSB officials said the pilots had requested an increase in altitude of 2,000 feet after encountering a thunderstorm, shortly before the aircraft spiraled toward the ground.
In disturbing cockpit audio, Filgueiras told air traffic controllers that ice was building up on the aircraft and that severe turbulence had sent it up and down by more than 700 feet.
“Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday mayday… we’re descending 10,000ft per minute,” she said.
Seconds later, she declared: “Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.”
Her voice became increasingly distressed as she said: “Descending 20,000ft per minute… we’re going to crash into the ground.”
“I’m here with you, talk to me,” the air traffic controller replied.
Filgueiras responded: “We are descending 22,000ft, and we are banking 60 degrees.”
“We’re going to die!” she screamed, according to the final radio transmissions before the jet struck the ground and burst into flames.
As the aircraft fell, Gregory, whom friends described as a devout Christian, could be heard reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the background.
Harrowing video showed the Learjet striking the road at what some experts said appeared to be close to supersonic speed.
The jet was flown by pilot Jeff Gregory, 55, and co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, 20
Tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, and his ceramicist wife Helen Sharp, 40, were traveling with their children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two
Robinson’s friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, along with the children’s nanny Anita Maria Cetina, were also aboard the flight
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The crash blocked access to a nearby mobile home community and forced nearly 600 residents to relocate while the investigation continues.
Joel Flores, a former Greenacres mayor and current Palm Beach County commissioner, said Monday that the section of road where the aircraft came down was unlikely to reopen “in the next 30 days.”
The NTSB is expected to issue a preliminary report next month, although determining the precise cause of the crash will probably take more than a year.
“Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again,” NTSB member Tom Chapman said.
