Learjet Dives Into Florida Neighborhood, Killing Nine

A Learjet 60 heading for the Bahamas fell out of the sky over a South Florida neighborhood on Sunday and exploded in a fireball beside a busy road. Everyone on board, nine people, died.

Minutes before the dive

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data give a rough timeline. The jet was flying east at 35,000 feet when its pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation. They asked to climb another 2,000 feet.

Moments after that, the aircraft entered a steep dive. The descent rate climbed from 10,000 feet per minute to 20,000 and then to as much as 30,000, which pushed the plane beyond its design limits. Flightradar24 said its data showed the rate at one point passed 32,000 feet per minute.

Shortly before the fall, the pilot told controllers: "We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence." Recordings captured by LiveATC.net also show that turbulence was jolting the jet by as much as 700 feet. Then the situation changed fast. A pilot declared an emergency, and the plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground.

A crater beside the road

Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the crash happened in Palm Beach county at 12.50pm. The site is near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North. Video from people in passing cars shows the jet plunging and striking the ground. Afterward, fire burned among broken pavement around a crater. Onlookers were shocked at how close the jet came down to homes and passing vehicles.

Governor Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of anyone injured or killed on the ground. "It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road," he said.

The sheriff's office closed the road in both directions. Authorities began evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community. A woman working nearby said power in the area was out for about two hours.

What is known about the aircraft

The jet left Austin-Bergstrom international airport in Texas. An airport spokesperson, Jim Reynolds, confirmed it was a private aircraft but gave no details about who was on board. FAA records list the owner of the Bombardier-made plane as a Delaware corporation.

Rain had pounded the region through Sunday. The National Weather Service had a flood watch for excessive rainfall in effect until Monday afternoon.

Investigation

The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the cause. Duffy called the crash a horrific tragedy in a post on X. Officials have not said what caused it.

Our View

The recordings show a crew that described the ice as manageable and then, within minutes, radioed a mayday. Why the situation changed so quickly is the central question for the NTSB. Its findings will show whether weather, the aircraft or something else is behind the crash.

Source: The Guardian