Questions over Learjet black box which could explain final moments before horror Florida crash

Questions over Learjet black box which could explain final moments before horror Florida crash Investigators are working to determine what caused a Learjet 60 to crash into a Florida neighbourhood on Sunday It remains a mystery whether a business jet that crashed in Florida, killing all nine people on board, was fitted with a cockpit voice recorder - commonly known as a black box. If one was installed, investigators do not yet know whether they will be able to recover it from the wreckage. The Learjet 60, travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, crashed in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, at around 12.50pm local time (5.50pm GMT) on Sunday. The victims included entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their two young children, Emma and Charlie. The children's nanny, Anita Maria Apellido Cetina, and the couple's two friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, were also killed, alongside pilot Jeff Gregory and his 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Filgueiras. The private jet nose-dived before crashing in a fireball on a street about nine miles from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. The impact left a fiery crater and scattered debris across a wide area. Authorities have said weather conditions at the time of the crash will be a key focus of the investigation. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman said on Monday that that the aircraft’s maintenance records suggested a cockpit voice recorder had been installed on the aircraft. "What we don’t know is whether that recorder was still on board. Sometimes these things change over time," he told a press conference. Mr Chapman said investigators found evidence that the aircraft began breaking up before it hit the ground and added that debris from the aircraft could be spread far and wide. He said the heavy rain in Florida is making investigators' work difficult as the crater is filled with rainwater. NTSB investigator Timothy Monville said at the news conference: "This will be a several-day process, and the biggest obstacle that we’re going to have is recovering the major wreckage from the impacted crater on the roadway." Jeff Guzzetti, a former investigator for the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration, told The Associated Press that key components of the jet’s tail may have been lost during the turbulence or as it nose-dived, making the plane impossible to control. "That very well could explain the missile-like profile just before it hit the ground," he said. The families of the passengers confirmed the deaths of their loved ones in a joint statement. They said: "Adam and Helen were devoted parents, and Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, were the light of their lives. Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever. Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives. Their loss will be felt deeply by all those who loved them and who they loved in return. "Charmi and Rachel were full of joy and adventure. They loved their people fiercely, fully and without hesitation. From the moment they met, they were all in on each other and the life they were building. They are deeply loved, and we will miss them endlessly. "Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion." The statement added: "Our hearts are also with the families of the pilots, who are grieving alongside us. We ask for privacy as we grieve."