NTSB Finds Missing Tail Component Miles From Florida Crash Site

Investigators confirmed Tuesday that the private jet that crashed in Florida on Sunday began disintegrating before it hit the ground. The discovery of major tail components miles from the impact site provides the first physical evidence that the aircraft was breaking apart during its descent.

National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman stated that most of the left elevator was recovered in three separate pieces. The fragments were found between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the crash site in Greenacres. Chapman explained that without an intact elevator, the pilot could not have controlled the plane's pitch to pull it out of the nosedive.

The elevator is the tail surface that manages the aircraft's nose angle. Chapman noted that while he does not yet know if the loss of the part caused the loss of control or resulted from the forces of the dive, the finding is a critical data point. "Knowing that it was lost is a very important piece of evidence in terms of pointing us towards other things to investigate," Chapman said.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti told The Associated Press that the parts likely detached near the ground rather than at high altitude. He reasoned that had the elevator broken off higher up, the debris would have scattered much farther from the crash site. This suggests the structural failure happened late in the flight sequence.

The Learjet 60 was flying from Austin to the Bahamas when it went down. All nine people aboard died. The victims included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their two young children. Two crew members were in the cockpit: pilot Jeff Gregory and co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.

Filgueiras reported ice accumulation and severe turbulence in her final communications with air traffic control. She stated the plane was thrown up and down by more than 700 feet and descended at a rate exceeding 20,000 feet per minute. Her final transmission before the signal cut out was "We're out of time!" A man's voice reciting the Lord's Prayer was audible in the background of the audio, which friends believe was Gregory.

Approximately 600 residents remain displaced from their homes near the crash site. Only one person on the ground was injured. Investigators plan to access the impact crater on Wednesday to retrieve critical components. A preliminary NTSB report is expected in about one month, with a probable cause determination likely to take more than a year.