Federal investigators have retrieved the cockpit voice recorder from the crash site of a Learjet 60 near Greenacres in Palm Beach County, Florida, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
The private aircraft plummeted and erupted in flames on November 1, 2026, killing nine people. Investigators transported the recording unit to the federal agency's Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C., to attempt audio extraction.
Aviation safety specialist Jeff Guzzetti assessed from released photographs that the orange housing of the recorder looked intact, noting, "It's very plausible that any info on the recorder survived. If they can recover it, and it's from the accident flight, that will be a huge help to investigators."
Mid-Air Turbulence and Breakup
Prior to the plunge, the crew alerted air traffic control to severe turbulence that shifted the aircraft vertically over 700 feet alongside wing icing, and requested an alternative route.
Search teams recovered pieces of the jet's left tail elevator separate from the main crater, including a section found miles away. The scattered parts indicate the aircraft began disintegrating mid-air.
Workers completed excavation at the crash crater after pumping out standing water, which allowed them to recover part of an aircraft engine. The chartered jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at approximately 10:37 a.m. en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas before coming down shortly before 1:00 p.m.
Those killed aboard included technology executive Adam Robinson, his spouse Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, family nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and passengers Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. Full federal investigations into fatal crashes typically require between 12 and 18 months to complete.
