Parts of the engine on the Learjet plane that crashed on a Florida street have been recovered, officials said.
The horrific accident claimed the lives of nine people after the jet plummeted tens of thousands of feet and exploded into a giant fireball on Sunday near West Palm Beach, leaving a gaping hole in the ground.
On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that a 'portion of one engine' was found while officials excavated the area.
'Debris has been found away from the impact location and also on the roofs of homes and buildings near the crash site,' the agency shared on X.
All of the wreckage that is found at the site will be shipped 'to a secure location for further examination,' officials said.
The NTSB also urged locals to contact the agency if they find debris or parts, and warned that no one should attempt to 'move, alter or dispose' of them.
'Even small pieces of the wreckage may contain important evidence that could help investigators determine what happened.'
The horrific accident claimed the lives of nine people after the jet plummeted tens of thousands of feet and exploded into a giant fireball on Sunday near West Palm Beach, leaving a gaping hole in the ground
On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that a 'portion of one engine' was found while officials excavated the area
Nearby residents have previously told how they found debris from the airplane around their homes, with one suspected piece of the Learjet 60 falling through the roof of Ana Escobar's home.
A giant hole was left behind, and the object tore out the insulation from the ceiling and left water dripping through her roof.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has collected the item as evidence, she told the outlet.
Peter DiMaira, who lives roughly four miles from the crash site, believes he found a piece of the airplane's tail – which could help prove that the jet was falling apart before the crash.
NTSB also confirmed it recovered three pieces of the jet's left elevator, which helps the aircraft make up-and-down movements. Those pieces were found between one and four miles from the crash site.
Investigators are now working to determine what caused the business jet to crash on the voyage from Austin, Texas to the Bahamas, killing pilot Jeffry Gregory and co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
Adam Robinson, his wife, Helen Sharp, and their children, Emma, four and Charlie, two, also lost their lives, their heartbroken family said in a statement.
Anita Maria Cetina, the children's nanny, also died.
Moments before the Learjet erupted in a gigantic fireball on Sunday, a suspected piece of the aircraft fell through the roof of Ana Escobar's home
A giant hole was left behind, and the object tore out the insulation from the ceiling and left water dripping through her roof. The sheriff's office took the piece in for evidence
At a news conference on Monday, NTSB officials said the pilots requested to gain 2,000 feet of elevation when they encountered a thunderstorm, moments before the aircraft spiraled to the ground.
In distressing audio from the cockpit, Filgueiras could be heard telling air traffic controllers that ice was accumulating on the plane and that severe turbulence had thrown it up and down by more than 700 feet.
'Seven two two bravo delta, we're descending 8,000... mayday mayday... we're descending 10,000ft per minute,' she said.
Seconds later, she screamed: 'Declaring emergency, declaring emergency, we are in an overspeed condition.'
Her voice grew even more panicked as she said: 'Descending 20,000ft per minute... we're going to crash into the ground.'
'I'm here with you, talk to me,' the air traffic controller responded.
Filgueiras said: 'We are descending 22,000ft, and we are banking 60 degrees.'
'We're going to die!' she said with a scream before the jet slammed into the ground and erupted in a fireball, her final radio transmissions to air traffic control revealed.
As the plane plunged, Gregory, who was described by friends as a devout Christian, could be heard reciting the Lord's Prayer in the background.
Harrowing footage then showed the Learjet hitting the road at what some experts say was near-supersonic speed.
The jet was piloted by Jeff Gregory, 55, and his copilot, Nathalia Filgueiras, 20.
Tech tycoon Adam Robinson, 45, and his ceramicist wife Helen Sharp, 40, were aboard the jet with their children, Emma, four, and Charlie, two
Robinson's friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children's nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, were also on the flight
The damage blocked a nearby mobile home community, forcing nearly 600 residents to relocate as the investigation continues.
It now remains unlikely that the part of the road where the plane crashed will be open 'in the next 30 days,' former Greenacres Mayor and current Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said at a news conference on Monday.
The NTSB is now expected to release a preliminary report next month, but it will likely take more than a year for the agency to determine what caused the crash.
'Our mission is to understand not just what happened, but why it happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again,' NTSB member Tom Chapman said.
