Florida Learjet crash kills nine and prompts evacuation of 600 people
An air traffic control recording captured the Bahamas-bound jet's final distress calls and reports of an accelerating descent before impact.
- A private Learjet crashed in a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people on board.
- The crash prompted the evacuation of approximately 600 people from a nearby mobile home park to local shelters.
- The flight originated in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas when it encountered turbulence and icing, according to air traffic control communications.
- Before impact, the cockpit declared a "Mayday" and reported a sudden, rapid descent that reached over 20,000 feet per minute.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an inquiry into a private Learjet crash in Florida's Palm Beach County. US transportation officials confirmed that all nine occupants died when the aircraft came down in a residential area on Sunday afternoon, November 1.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores described an evacuation involving about 600 people, who were being relocated to two shelters in the county. Speaking at a news conference, he also reported a “massive crater” by the road near a mobile home park entrance.
North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas was the planned destination, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight originated at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas.
The aircraft was a Learjet 60 made by Canada-based Bombardier, with a Delaware corporation named as its owner in FAA records.
A recording posted on LiveATC, which broadcasts air traffic control communications, gave an unusually detailed account of the jet's final exchanges with a Miami air traffic control centre. The person speaking from the cockpit initially wanted “better rides”, describing the turbulence as “moderate” and reporting that they were “managing the ice”.
Less than a minute separated that initial request from “Mayday, mayday”. The speaker put the jet's sudden descent at 10,000 feet per minute, a figure that rose to 20,000 feet per minute seconds later as an emergency was declared.
The jet was beginning to bank when the cockpit reported a descent rate of 22,000 feet per minute. That update followed “We're going to crash into the ground”, a message delivered less than 20 seconds after the emergency declaration.
A rapidly delivered “We're out of time” closed the audible cockpit exchanges, about 35 seconds after the first mayday.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 cited data showing that the vertical descent rate passed 32,000 feet per minute at one point.
AccuWeather, in a statement on conditions at the time of the crash, reported thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area.
Social media footage captured an explosion after the jet struck the ground beside a road. Describing the video at a news conference near the crash site in Lake Worth Beach, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis remarked: “It was a big-time tragedy that happened.”
“When you see that video, it's a jarring thing. It was like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere.”
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy characterised the crash as a “horrific tragedy”. Bombardier indicated that it would give the investigation its full support and cooperate as needed.
