FAA releases air traffic tower audio from before Des Plaines plane crash

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 Lear go down."

Because the investigation is ongoing, FAA officials declined to comment on the recording.

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.

Two weeks after the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said there were no clues in a preliminary report as to why the Learjet cargo suddenly crashed.

The report also said pilot Stephen Ellis of Michigan, hired by plane owner Royal Air Freight in 2003, had more than 7,000 total flight hours, with 3,500 on Learjet cargo planes. The first officer, Ryan Daenzer also of Michigan, hired in 2005, had logged more than 7,000 hours of flight and more than 3,000 hours at the stick of a Learjet cargo plane.

The NTSB has said it could be about a year before the final report is issued.

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<li><a href="http://www.faa.gov/data_research/accident_incident/2010-01-05/media/Certified%20RAX988%20LCL-GD-Atis.mp3">Audio of tower chatter </a></li>

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