A private Learjet 60 jet crashed on Sunday in a residential area of Cresthaven, in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, killing all nine people on board. The business jet nose-dived into a neighborhood in southern Florida and exploded, leaving a crater in the road and sending up a thick plume of smoke. Nearby homes narrowly escaped. Footage shared on social media showed the aircraft making a loud noise as it descended rapidly, hitting the side of the road and erupting into a large fireball. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the plane’s descent as “a rocket coming down”.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. It was flying at an altitude of 10,660 meters when the pilots reported turbulence, ice and precipitation, and requested permission to climb an additional 610 meters. Only moments later, the aircraft plunged steeply, first at 3,000 meters per minute and then at 6,000 meters per minute, reaching as high as 9,000 meters per minute – a rate of descent that exceeded the aircraft’s design limits, according to air traffic control records.
LiveATC captured the final terrifying moments of the crash in an audio recording from the Miami air traffic control center. A person from the cockpit can be heard saying “Mayday, mayday, we are descending 3,000 meters per minute” and then declares “emergency”, reporting a descent of 6,000 meters per minute. A voice from the cockpit says “We are going to hit the ground” and then reports that the descent was 6,700 meters and the plane was banking at 60 degrees. A scream is heard before the final words: “We are out of time”. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a “horrific tragedy”. The cause of the crash and the identities of the victims are not yet known. The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation, while about 600 people were evacuated from the area.
Source: Deutsche Welle