Federal investigators stated Monday that weather conditions are a primary focus of the inquiry into a fiery Learjet 60 crash that resulted in the deaths of nine people in Palm Beach County, Florida.
According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman, preliminary findings suggest the aircraft may have begun to break apart before impacting a residential neighborhood on Sunday afternoon. "We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact," Chapman said during a press conference. "And so, some of this has yet to be determined. We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site."
Chapman noted that investigators are scrutinizing the weather encountered by the jet at approximately 35,000 feet, where the crew reported experiencing icing and moderate turbulence shortly before the crash. "The weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation," he stated. "You all saw what the weather was like here at the surface. What we have to determine is what the weather conditions were like at altitude."
The aircraft, en route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, was carrying two crew members and seven passengers. According to the NTSB, the crew reported encountering light clear ice and moderate turbulence around 12:47 p.m. while at 35,000 feet, with altitude deviations of about 700 feet. The crew also reported an outside temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius, or minus 53 degrees Fahrenheit, before requesting permission to climb to 37,000 feet due to precipitation.
Air traffic control granted the request, but less than 30 seconds later, the crew reported an overspeed condition and a descent, transmitting a mayday call. "We are in an overspeed condition, descending," the crew reported, though the remainder of the message was unintelligible, Chapman said.
Subsequent communications indicated a rapid loss of altitude before the jet crashed around 12:50 p.m., resulting in the deaths of all nine individuals on board. NTSB investigator-in-charge Timothy Manville described the recovery of wreckage from the crater formed by the impact as a significant challenge.
Dashcam footage captured the jet's nose-first plunge into the neighborhood, culminating in a large fireball. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the crash "cataclysmic," remarking that the aircraft appeared "like a missile going down." The incident prompted the evacuation of approximately 600 residents from a nearby mobile home community.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is assisting the NTSB in the investigation, the cause of which remains undetermined.