The Federal Aviation Administration released the final recording between air traffic control and the pilots of a Learjet cargo plane that crashed into the Des Plaines River on Jan. 5, killing the pilots.
About half of the 24-minute recording is blank, but at one point an air traffic controller describes where the plane went down.
“It crashed south of the airport someplace,” the controller said. “It was almost lined up with the runway, about three-quarters of a mile south, maybe a little east but by a very, very small amount,”
About 12 minutes into the recording, the air traffic controller concludes the plane had crashed.
“He didn’t make it, he went down a mile from the runway,” the controller said. “He didn’t make it to the airport. I just had a Leer go down.”
Because the investigation is ongoing, FAA officials declined to comment on the recording.
The plane’s two pilots, Stephen Ellis and Ryan Daenzer, both of Michigan, died in the crash.
The multi-engine, fixed-wing plane was headed to the Wheeling airport to pick up freight about 10:30 p.m. Jan. 5 to be delivered to an airport in Atlanta. The FAA said there were no reports of problems with the plane under Royal or previous owners.
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