Flight data shows jet plunged at up to 30,000 feet per minute in Greenacres

Aviation expert says icing and turbulence may have stalled jet

Air traffic control recordings and flight-tracking data showed the Learjet 60 entering a steep dive at 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000 and at times up to 30,000, a rate that took it beyond its design limits. Palm Beach County sheriff’s officials identified Greenacres, a city of 45,000 people about 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach, as the crash site. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the jet crashed in Palm Beach County at 12:50 p.m. Sunday and that all nine people aboard were killed.

Video recorded by people inside their cars captured the aircraft plunging from the sky before it struck near a Palm Beach County roadway and exploded. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining a crater while thick black smoke engulfed the site. People at the scene expressed shock that the aircraft came down only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the airport, said the Learjet was a private aircraft and could not immediately provide details about who was on the flight. Authorities had not immediately identified the people aboard.

Duffy posted on X that the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County and called it a “horrific tragedy.” He said the Federal Aviation Administration was sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation.

Rain pounded the region Sunday, and the National Weather Service said a flood watch due to excessive rainfall was in effect through Monday afternoon. The aircraft was heading east at 35,000 feet, about 11 kilometers, when pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested to climb another 2,000 feet, about 610 meters.

Moments later, the aircraft entered the steep dive, with the recorded descent rates carrying it beyond its design limits. The pilot declared an emergency and issued distress calls. The aircraft banked sharply to the right before it smashed into the ground.

Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the jet and turbulence jolting it by as much as 700 feet, or 213 meters, according to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net. “We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.

The situation rapidly deteriorated after the aircraft encountered precipitation and requested a climb. The pilot declared an emergency as the jet began losing altitude at an alarming rate. “We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday - we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed. “We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed, before acknowledging what was about to happen. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Steve Arroyo, an aviation safety expert, said icing and turbulence could have been factors and may have caused the plane to stall while it was cruising at 34,000 feet, or 10,363 meters. Arroyo said there were many potential factors and the National Transportation Safety Board would consider all of them, including how the pilot responded to the icing and turbulence reported over the radio. He said investigators would not rule anything out at that early stage.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground injured or killed. “It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis told reporters at the scene. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

Palm Beach County authorities were evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community while federal officials investigate the crash. County officials said the road would remain closed until further notice.

The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators were expected to arrive at the crash site on Sunday and Monday, with a media briefing scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. Authorities had not announced a cause for the crash, and the investigation remained at an early stage.