Federal investigators have located part of an engine from the Learjet that crashed Sunday in Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people aboard.
The recovery came Wednesday after utility crews drained standing water and removed other hazards from the site, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. The Learjet 60 departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at about 10:37 a.m. Sunday on a flight to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Shortly before 1 p.m., it crashed in Palm Beach County, killing everyone on board.
Investigators found a section of one engine after excavation work began. Officials also said aircraft debris had landed on the roofs of nearby homes and other structures.
Earlier, crews recovered the left tail elevator, a flight-control surface that helps regulate the aircraft’s pitch. The component was found in three pieces, with one section located nearly four miles from the main crash site.
Adam Robinson and his wife, Helen Sharp, were flying with their two young children from Texas to the Bahamas when their Learjet crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Nov. 1. (Fox News)
NTSB member Thomas B. Chapman described the recovered component as a “very important piece of evidence” during a briefing with reporters Tuesday.
The agency said on social media that even seemingly minor fragments of wreckage could hold clues that help investigators establish what led to the crash.
The Learjet 60 crashed into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday afternoon, bursting into a huge fireball about nine miles from Mar-a-Lago. (Aki Kuusisto via Storyful)
At an altitude of roughly 41,000 feet, an air traffic controller warned the crew that moderate precipitation was five miles ahead. The pilots were told they could alter course to either side, while the route toward Freeport in the Bahamas was described as looking “pretty bad.”
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The flight path shows the Learjet departing Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas for the Bahamas before crashing in Greenacres, Florida. (Fox News)
Air traffic control later instructed the crew to continue toward a waypoint near Naples, Florida.
After turning toward Palm Beach County, the pilots reported that conditions were worsening. They told controllers they were encountering icing and turbulence and asked whether smoother air was available farther along the route.
Investigators examine the scene of the Learjet crash in Greenacres, Florida, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Thunderstorms and intense rain were moving across South Florida when the Learjet crashed. The NTSB has said weather conditions will be a central part of its investigation.
The victims included Austin technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45; his wife, Helen Sharp, 40; their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2; the family’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina; and Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.
Copilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, left, and Capt. Jeffrey Scott Gregory, 55, right, were flying the Learjet 60 that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2026. (Threads/@itsnatfilg; Facebook/JeffnCheryl Corbin-Gregory)
The Learjet had a cockpit voice recorder, but investigators have not recovered it. NTSB officials also said they have not yet confirmed whether the recorder was installed on the aircraft at the time of the crash.
