A business jet headed to the Bahamas crashed onto a busy roadway in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people aboard on Sunday. Seven passengers and two crew members died, according to an updated ABC7 News Bay Area report published November 2.
The Learjet 60 went down near Cresthaven around 12:50 p.m. on November 1, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed. It had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
By Monday, the inquiry included evidence of damage before the jet reached the ground. “We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact,” an NTSB investigator said in ABC’s report. “We’re still seeking to determine that.”
One pilot’s stepfather identified her to ABC News as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. ABC also reported that she earned her pilot’s license at 17, while she was a high school senior.
Before the Impact
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Flight-tracking provider Flightradar24 identified the aircraft as a Learjet built in 2004. Its data showed a brief climb before the plane entered a steep descent to the right.
In air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC and reviewed by Flightradar24, the crew described icing and moderate turbulence and requested a “better ride.” After reporting precipitation, they asked to climb to 37,000 feet. Clearance came before the crew reported a rapid descent and an overspeed condition.
During the descent, the reported vertical rate exceeded 32,000 feet per minute. Flightradar24’s final altitude reading was 8,750 feet at 12:49:22 p.m. local time.
Weather is a major focus of the NTSB inquiry, ABC reported. In the communications described in its report, the crew characterized the light clear ice as manageable.
At Ground Level
A nearby witness interviewed by ABC was about 100 feet from the crash. “The building definitely shook,” she said, describing large chunks of metal scattered around the area and people running over them.
The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a go-team and identified the operator as Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jet. Its investigation remains ongoing.
ABC reported that the on-scene work could take several days, with recovering wreckage from the large impact crater posing a major challenge. Flightradar24’s briefing summary adds that the aircraft had previously been equipped with a cockpit voice recorder; the NTSB was checking whether it remained aboard and working to locate it.