Federal investigators said Monday they recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the charter jet that crashed into a roadway in Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it recovered the Learjet 60’s cockpit voice recorder, which captures the flight crew’s voices, at the primary crash site.
The recorder is being evaluated in the agency’s Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, and excavation work at the impact site is complete, the NTSB said.
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Investigators have not said whether the device was damaged or was recording during the flight. They will try to determine whether it works and whether any audio was captured.
The jet carrying seven passengers and two crew members crashed at 12:51 p.m. Nov. 1 after departing Austin, Texas, for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. It was operated by Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jets, under Part 135 charter rules.
NTSB board member Thomas Chapman said that at about 35,000 feet, the crew told air traffic control it was encountering light clear ice and moderate turbulence, with altitude swings of about 700 feet. The crew then reported precipitation and asked to climb to 37,000 feet.
Less than 30 seconds later, the plane transmitted that it was “in an overspeed condition descending,” followed by a “mayday” call.
Investigators recovered most of the jet’s left elevator, which was supposed to raise or lower the aircraft’s nose, in three pieces 1.3 to 3.8 miles from the crash site, Mr. Chapman said.
The location indicates the pieces separated before impact, but the NTSB has not determined whether the separation caused the plane’s descent or resulted from it.
The NTSB has not established a cause. A preliminary report is expected in about a month, and a probable cause could take one to two years, an agency spokesperson told CNN.
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