Officials said there may have been “some breakup” of the Learjet 60 before it crashed Sunday afternoon in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people on board.
The aircraft departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera, Bahamas, the National Transportation Safety Board said at a Monday news conference.
The plane crashed around 12:50 p.m. Sunday near the residential neighborhood of Cresthaven in Florida.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
“We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact. We’re still seeking to determine that,” NTSB member Tom Chapman said.
Video of the crash was captured on a car’s dashcam and showed the jet plummeting into the road at a high speed, causing a fiery explosion. The crash left a large hole in the ground.
Seven passengers and two crew members were on the jet.
The co-pilot was identified by her family as Nathalia Filgueiras, 20. Her sister Giulia Filgueiras said Nathalia learned to fly from her father, who is a pilot.
“Flying was her biggest passion,” Giulia Filgueiras said. “That was her dream to become a pilot since she was very young.”
In distressing air traffic control audio, a woman onboard the plane is heard saying, “Mayday, mayday. We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute.”
She later yells and says the jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute. “We’re gonna crash into the ground 722 Bravo Delta,” she says, followed by a scream.
About two minutes before the audio, the woman reported “light, clear ice” but said it was “manageable” and described “moderate turbulence.” She later said, “We’re picking up precipitation,” and asked to climb in altitude.
Chapman said the request to climb was approved by Air Traffic Control.
“Less than 30 seconds later, a transmission from the airplane announced a descent, followed by a mayday call,” he said at the news conference. “About 12:48 Eastern, the airplane transmitted, ‘We are in an over-speed condition, descending,’ with the rest unintelligible. Subsequent communications described that the airplane was descending rapidly and gave an altitude callout. Sadly, all aboard were lost.”
There was a flood watch in effect Sunday for southern Florida with numerous showers and scattered thunderstorms forecast to continue through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
The NTSB said weather conditions will be a major focus of the investigation.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the jet “looked like a missile going down” because of its speed and called the crash “cataclysmic.”
He said the amount of debris spanned a “pretty significant distance.”
Joel Flores, commissioner for Palm Beach County’s 3rd District, previously said that about 600 people were displaced from their homes after the crash. He said at a news conference on Monday that about 77 mobile homes near the wreckage site were among the areas evacuated and that it’s unclear when residents will be allowed to return home.
Officials said they are working to reestablish access to the neighborhood.
“Our concern right now on the county is obviously clearing the scene so that our residents can get back to normal,” Flores said.
Learjet manufacturer Bombardier said it was “deeply saddened” by the crash.
“We cannot comment on the potential cause of this accident until the investigation is complete and we will fully support the investigating authorities and cooperate as needed,” Bombardier said.
