NTSB recovers crashed Learjet elevator parts and prepares to enter impact crater

Pitch-control components came down miles from the crash site.
Accident investigators have still not been able to access the impact crater formed by the Learjet 60 that crashed near Palm Beach on 1 November, though they did recover parts of the jet’s elevator several miles from the crash site.

The majority of the aircraft’s left elevator was located in three pieces about 1.3-3.8mi (2.1-6.1km) from the accident site, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Thomas Chapman said on 3 November.

“It tells us that at least some components, important pieces of the aircraft, separated before the impact,” Chapman adds.

He does not say where in relation to the crater the components were discovered.

The NTSB has not determined when the elevator separated – whether it “contributed to the crash itself” or resulted from excessive forces during the accident sequence.

“At those speeds, I don’t know that [the elevator] would have been effective, even if it had still been attached to the aircraft,” he adds. “But knowing that it was lost is a very important piece of evidence.”

The aircraft, operated by Aurora Aviation under the business name Upper Jets, descended rapidly in bad weather while flying from Austin to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Prior to the crash the pilots told air traffic controllers they were experiencing “light” icing and “moderate” turbulence.

The jet dove into the ground, creating a compact impact crater which then filled with water. More rain on 2 November, and the need to remove a nearby unstable utility pole, have so far kept the NTSB from inspecting it.

The agency has been working with local public works departments to remove water from the crater, and Chapman says investigators hope on 4 November to gain their first access.

“I feel confident they are going to find the evidence they need within that crater.” he says, adding that aircraft components will likely be “very small pieces”.

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