Parts of Florida Learjet Found Miles From Crash Site, Investigators Say

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the U.S. agency that examines transport accidents, said parts of a private jet may have broken off before it crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. All nine people on board were killed.

The aircraft was a 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60. It had departed from Austin-Bergstrom airport in Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas. According to WOODTV, the crash happened at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern time in a neighborhood near Cresthaven, Florida. The jet nosedived into a multi-lane highway and exploded on impact.

Crucial components were found scattered between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the crash site, the BBC reported. Among them was a part that controls the up-and-down movement of the nose. NTSB board member Tom Chapman said the majority of the jet's left elevator, a hinged control surface on the tail, was found in three pieces.

Chapman said investigators had determined the parts fell off before the plane hit the ground, because they were a considerable distance from the crash site. Officials were still working out whether losing the left elevator caused the plane to nosedive, or whether forces acting on the aircraft caused the part to separate, he said.

ABC News reported that parents and two young children were among the victims.