Investigators searching for the 40-foot-long Lear jet that disappeared while attempting to land at Lebanon Airport on December 24 are now concentrating their efforts in northwestern Massachusetts, based on a recent review of flight information and eyewitness interviews.
The search for the missing jet so far has been focused in New Hampshire and Vermont. Massachusetts State Police have stepped up the search effort in the area of Bernardston, Northfield and Turners Falls, Massachusetts.
Paul Hodge, a surveyor for the state of Vermont, who has been involved in the search, said the plane may have been looking for the Keene, NH airport to make an emergency landing, a few minutes after it lost contact with air traffic controllers.
Hodge said "it is only a matter of time" until the jet is found.
Although other investigators are more cautious in their estimates, most agree they know more than they did six months ago.
In coming weeks there will be a short window with ideal search conditions: the time between when the leaves fall and the first snowfall.
Investigators have planned a meeting in Lebanon on October 25 to discuss new developments.
One of the principal searchers, former pilot and policeman Scott Estey has also been working diligently to find out why the plane crashed.
Estey said the jet's low altitude approaching the airport could indicate that it was a malfunction that caused the accident.
