Overview
- A Learjet 60 that left Austin crashed onto Military Trail in Greenacres on Nov. 1, killing all nine people aboard and scattering debris across homes and roadways.
- NTSB teams excavated the crater this week and recovered a portion of an engine and earlier-found left tail-elevator pieces that investigators call key evidence for reconstructing sequence of failure.
- Air-traffic and cockpit communications recorded reports of icing, turbulence and nearby precipitation, making weather a primary focus as investigators analyze wreckage and flight data.
- Investigators have not located the cockpit voice recorder and say laboratory analysis of the recovered parts, maintenance records and flight data will be needed before any cause can be determined.
- Families on the ground and relatives of victims have retained attorneys and independent experts as the federal probe continues and officials prepare a preliminary factual report in the coming weeks.