SOUTH BEND -- The black box from the jet that crashed into a neighborhood is on its way to a lab in Washington DC.
The National Transportation Safety Board hopes the cockpit voice recorder will help explain why the plane went down Sunday.
Former Oklahoma University quarterback Steve Davis, 60; and 58-year-old Wesley Caves of Tulsa, Oklahoma, were both on the plane and were killed. Two others onboard and a person on the ground were injured.
An official at Memorial Hospital confirms Jim Rodgers was in serious condition Monday, Christopher Evans was in fair condition, and Diana McKeown, who was in one of the homes, was listed as fair.
The NTSB says it's making "phenomenal" progress removing the aircraft wreckage from the house where it ended up.
They hope to remove the fuselage Tuesday and bring it to a hangar at South Bend Regional Airport, where investigators will be able to take a much closer look at the wreckage.
“In general I am unaware at this time of any fleet safety issues, of course we look at the fleet safety record during our prolonged investigation,” said Todd Fox, NTSB investigator, who planned to be on-site in the neighborhood for three or four more days.
The black box is in good condition, Fox said. Once it arrives at the lab, investigators will download recordings, which likely captured what was happening in the cockpit during the final few minutes of the flight when the pilots attempted to land twice.
“During the second aborted landing attempt the aircraft was observed to climb away from the runway, enter a bank, and then shortly thereafter impact the residence,” Fox said.
The South Bend Fire Department says there was a very brief flash fire right after the crash, which they quickly extinguished with foam.
Considering all that fuel on board and the force of the impact, it’s extraordinary there wasn't a much larger blaze, said Asst. Chief John Corthier.
The fire department was successful in removing the leaked fuel from the crash scene and there is no longer a fire or explosion threat, Corthier said.
