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ORLANDO, Fla. — Control cables were broken in the NASCAR plane that crashed into two suburban homes, killing five people earlier this month, federal investigators said Tuesday.

It wasn’t known whether the cables broke before or during the crash, though, and the cause of the July 10 crash in suburban Sanford remained unclear, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Inspectors found numerous separations in the cables running through the right wing and forward fuselage of the twin-engine Cessna 310, according to the NTSB.

Witnesses had reported seeing smoke trailing from the plane as it sped low over the neighborhood and seeing its wings “rocking” before it sharply banked and slammed into the homes, the report said.

The crash killed both people aboard, NASCAR Aviation pilot Michael Klemm and Dr. Bruce Kennedy, the husband of International Speedway Corp. President Lesa France Kennedy.

Three people in the homes that were hit and quickly gutted by the burning fuel also died.

Investigators still aren’t sure who was piloting the plane, en route from Daytona Beach to Lakeland. The plane was registered to Competitor Liaison Bureau Inc. of Daytona Beach, which is registered under the name of William C. France, the NASCAR chairman who died last month at 74. Lesa France Kennedy is France’s daughter.