Curtis Tate

For NPR News, I'm Curtis Tate in Richmond, Kentucky.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the plane's voice and data recorders both sustained fire damage in the crash.

NTSB member Todd Inman says investigators won't know the condition of their contents until they are sent to a laboratory in Washington for analysis.

Inman also says, according to airport security footage, the left engine became detached from the plane while it was attempting to take off.

Inman says the debris field stretches half a mile.

For NPR News, I'm Curtis Tate in Richmond, Kentucky.