Investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the Learjet 60 that crashed near Greenacres, Florida, on Nov. 1, killing all nine people aboard, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a Nov. 9 update. The device was located at the initial impact site and is being evaluated at the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

Recorder is still being evaluated

The NTSB has not said whether the recorder is damaged or whether investigators will be able to retrieve usable audio. The agency said excavation at the impact site has been completed. Recovering the device is a step in the investigation, but it does not by itself explain what happened before the crash.

A cockpit voice recorder can provide investigators with cockpit audio, if the equipment recorded and the data can be recovered. The Associated Press reported that the NTSB was evaluating the unit in its Washington laboratory; the agency has not announced any findings from that examination.

Crash cause remains undetermined

The NTSB’s investigation page labels its information preliminary and subject to change. Investigators will assess evidence from the recorder alongside other material gathered at the scene. The agency has not identified a cause. In an earlier AP report, investigators said determining the probable cause of the crash could take more than a year.

The Nov. 1 crash involved a Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 near Greenacres in Palm Beach County. All nine people aboard died. The NTSB’s next updates will determine whether the recovered recorder yields information that can be included in the investigation.

Sources

Associated Press: Investigators recover the voice recorder from a jet crash in Florida that killed 9

National Transportation Safety Board: Crash of Learjet 60 near Greenacres, Florida