Learjet crash in Greenacres, Florida, kills all nine aboard
A Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 plunged into a roadway in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, on Sunday afternoon after the crew reported icing and turbulence. All nine people on board were killed. No one on the ground was reported hurt.
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What happened
The Learjet 60 left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas and crashed at about 12:50 p.m. ET near Military Trail in Greenacres, NBC News and CNBC reported. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a "horrific tragedy." Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the scene, "It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road," according to CNBC and New York Post. Officials said there were no reports of ground fatalities. About 600 residents of a nearby mobile-home community were moved to shelters while investigators worked the site.
The radio calls
While cruising near 35,000 feet, the pilots reported turbulence and "light, clear ice" and asked to climb, according to LiveATC recordings cited by AP and CNBC. Moments later the pilot radioed an overspeed descent and said, "We're going to crash into the ground." The FAA said the plane dropped from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in a little over a minute, NPR and Straight Arrow News reported. Investigators have not named a cause. The NTSB and FAA are investigating.
Why it matters
Investigators are examining how a charter Learjet went from a routine cruise into a near-vertical dive that killed everyone aboard a few miles from Palm Beach International Airport.