FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — As federal investigators continue their probe of Sunday’s Learjet 60 crash in Palm Beach County amid rainy weather challenges, key pieces of evidence have been found, the National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday.

The jet’s left tail elevator was found in three pieces Monday within a range of 1.3 miles to 3.8 miles away from the site of impact on South Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, NTSB member Tom Chapman said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The elevator controls the up and down pitch of the plane. Chapman did not have further details on exactly where the pieces were found but said they are being kept for analysis.

Shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday, the private business jet encountered bad weather and turbulence above Palm Beach County and nose-dived, violently crashing into a major road and gouging a large crater in some of the lanes. All nine people aboard were killed, among them co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, who attended West Boca High School when she earned her private pilot license at age 17.

The recovery of the elevator pieces is significant because it shows “some pieces of the aircraft, important pieces of the aircraft, separated before the impact,” Chapman said.

“What that means exactly, in terms of what caused the aircraft to lose control or whether the loss of this piece was a result of the forces on the aircraft — we don’t know yet … But finding that piece is a very, very significant bit of evidence,” he said at the news conference.

On Tuesday, public works teams were working with NTSB to drain water from the crater, and an unstable utility pole was removed from the site, which Chapman said will help investigators access and stabilize the area. Teams should be able to begin investigating in and around the crater Wednesday.

Chapman said he feels confident they will find “critical airplane components” within it, even while acknowledging it is a challenging site and that the aircraft pieces found in the crater are likely to be small.

Investigators on Tuesday were mainly focused on collecting and documenting wreckage, Chapman said. Evidence collected so far is “almost entirely very small pieces,” and investigators are largely unsure what the pieces that have been recovered even are, he said.

“We don’t know exactly what all we have yet, but that’s part of the investigation, very early here. It’s a big puzzle to try to put together,” Chapman said.

Hundreds of residents who live near the crash area are displaced and without a timeline for when they can return home, officials said Monday. Many live in a mobile home park that borders the crash site in Greenacres. Chapman on Tuesday said residents may soon have “limited access” in the area.

Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Cresthaven Boulevard will remain closed until further notice, County Emergency Operations officials said in a news release Tuesday. Drivers are asked to use 10th Avenue North, Haverhill Road and Cresthaven Boulevard as detours.

Severe thunderstorms passed through the county Monday, complicating some aspects of the investigation, and the weather continues to be a “key challenge” Tuesday, Chapman said.

Some showers and storms are possible Wednesday in the county, with a 20% chance during the day, according to the National Weather Service Miami’s forecast. Thursday is forecast to be mostly clear.

Chapman urged community members who find pieces of wreckage to not touch or move the pieces and to contact the NTSB or local authorities.

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