NTSB focuses on weather and flight decisions after deadly Florida Learjet crash

Cockpit audio captured a rapid descent and warnings before impact

A Learjet 60 crashed into a thoroughfare in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard and injuring a nearby driver. The aircraft was flying from Austin, Texas, to Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas with seven passengers and two crew members. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, with weather conditions expected to be a major focus and the flight path also under review.

At about 12:50 p.m. local time, the Learjet pilot asked air-traffic control for clearance to fly higher as a storm generated ice and turbulence at an air temperature of negative 52.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The pilot said the crew was managing ice and that they were picking up precipitation. Air-traffic audio from LiveATC.net then captured the rapid descent. “Mayday, mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot said. The aircraft stopped climbing and began nosediving. “Declare an emergency,” the pilot said. “We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute!” The pilot added, “We are going to crash into the ground,” while the plane was banking 60 degrees, then said, “Holy f— we’re out of time.”

Video footage showed the business jet diving into the thoroughfare, where it exploded in a ball of fire and left a large crater in the road. The NTSB said the plane appeared to break apart as it plunged, leaving a half-mile-long debris field scattered among ballfields, businesses and homes.

NTSB member Thomas Chapman said investigators would examine how the pilots and air-traffic controllers decided the aircraft’s flight path. “The factual details of how this transpired is exactly what we’re trying to determine,” Chapman said. “Who knew what and when and what actions were taken and whether those actions were appropriate,” he added. The NTSB also would examine whether the crash shared similarities with other accidents involving the Learjet 60 model.

A significant storm system capable of producing strong updrafts, heavy precipitation and icing moved over Southern Florida on Sunday. AirNav Systems said the system consisted of cumulonimbus clouds, with some cells reaching relatively high intensity. One cell moved from west to east and intensified significantly near where the aircraft passed, according to AirNav Systems, whose weather data indicated moderate to severe icing and moderate turbulence in the area.

Aviation safety experts said the thunderstorm appeared to play a critical role in the crash and questioned why the flight crew entered severe weather. Jeff Guzzetti, a former top U.S. aircraft accident investigator, described the conditions the aircraft encountered. “The airplane was seen to have entered a very powerful, isolated thunderstorm that was high as to where that airplane was flying,” Guzzetti said. “Typically, these business jets can fly over the weather. But in this case, this weather was building up so much that it was reaching some very high altitudes.” Experts said the storm exposed the aircraft to potential icing, hail and turbulence.

Icing at such high altitudes is rare, experts said. A quick buildup of ice from upward-flowing air on an aircraft’s wings and tail can result in a loss of aerodynamic lift and control. “You can accumulate ice really quickly that way, but if you are in an airplane—a jet particularly—and you see liquid water like that, it is a real big red flag that this is very unusual and very, very dangerous,” said John Cox, an aviation safety consultant and former airline pilot union official.

The Learjet 60 dates to the 1990s, when it was certified by air-safety regulators, and its high thrust-to-weight ratio allows it to climb rapidly to high altitudes. Guzzetti said the design could have made the jet more vulnerable to an upset in certain conditions. “It was still certified to fly in certain conditions, but those conditions may have been exceeded,” he said. Bombardier, which owns Learjet, declined to comment and said it would cooperate with investigators.

Once the airplane started a rapid descent, experts said recovery would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, particularly if aerodynamic loads led to the loss of portions of the aircraft’s structure. Maintenance records indicated that the Learjet had a cockpit voice recorder installed, but Chapman said it was unclear whether the black box was still on board at the time of the crash.

Nathalia Filgueiras, the 20-year-old co-pilot who was in the cockpit, died in the crash, her stepfather Thiago Corteleti said. Family members identified the passengers as Austin, Texas, tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson; his wife, Helen Sharp; their children, ages 4 and 2; the children’s caretaker, Anita Maria Cetina; and friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, according to a joint statement from the families. “All we know is that our daughter is down there, under the ground with that airplane,” Corteleti said Monday outside the family’s home in Boca Raton, Florida.

The aircraft was operated by Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jets. An Aurora Aviation representative said the company is cooperating with the investigation.