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Pilot of Learjet that crashed in Florida killing all on board reported two problems right before everything went wrong
The pilot of a Learjet that crashed in South Florida and killed everyone on board reported two troubling conditions before the aircraft plunged to the ground.
The Bahamas-bound private plane had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas when it crashed in a neighborhood near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County at 12:50PM on Sunday (November 2).
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine people aboard the jet were killed.
In a post on X, he described the incident as a "horrific tragedy" and confirmed the Federal Aviation Administration was sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the cause.
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, also disclosed that there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground injured or killed.
"It was a cataclysmic plane crash," DeSantis said, per The Guardian. "It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road."
The crash site is located roughly eight miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The 80-year-old was in Iowa for a midterm election rally around the time of the incident.
Pilot declared an emergency moments before crash
Jim Reynolds, spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the plane was a private aircraft with tail number N722BD, but he could not say what caused the jet to go down or who was on it.
The aircraft was flying east at approximately 35,000 feet when the pilots reported two problems: icing and turbulence causing altitude fluctuations of up to 700 feet.
According to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net, the pilot initially indicated that the conditions were manageable.
"We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence," the pilot told controllers.
However, the situation quickly deteriorated. After encountering precipitation, the crew requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet to seek smoother flying conditions.
Moments later, the aircraft entered a steep descent, which led to the pilot declaring an emergency.
"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," they said, before delivering a chilling final warning of what was about to happen: "We’re going to crash into the ground."
The crash prompted Palm Beach County authorities to evacuate about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community.
"Right now, our priority is evacuating the adjacent community right behind. We have about 600 people that we have to make sure have shelter tonight, food," Joel Flores, Palm Beach County Commissioner for District 3, said at a press conference on Sunday evening.
Firefighters and emergency personnel rushed to the scene near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North, where officials closed roads in both directions and urged motorists to avoid the area.
The NTSB is leading the investigation, with assistance from the FAA.