A Learjet crew radioed ‘we’re out of time’ while plunging 20,000 feet per minute before crashing on a Florida street and killing all 9 aboard

A 20-year-old copilot was among nine people who died when a small jet crashed and exploded in Florida on Sunday, as reported by the BBC. Nathalia Filgueiras, who earned her pilot’s license at 17, was one of two crew members aboard the Learjet 60. The plane was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it went down near West Palm Beach.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the crew radioed air traffic control to report ice and moderate turbulence. “We are picking up precipitation, requesting to climb to 37,000 feet if able,” the crew said. Less than 30 seconds later, the plane began to descend rapidly, and a mayday call was issued.

The transmission then became “unintelligible,” according to NTSB member Tom Chapman. Air traffic control audio captured a crew member declaring an emergency and saying, “we are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000ft per minute,” before adding, “we are going to crash into the ground.” About 35 seconds after the initial mayday, the last remark from the cockpit was, “we’re out of time.”

The jet came down in the middle of a six-lane road

Flight analysis indicates the jet was plummeting hundreds of feet per second before it crashed. The aircraft nosedived onto Military Trail, a six-lane road lined with businesses and restaurants near Cresthaven, about nine miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

One man on the ground sustained a leg injury when the plane hit the street. Images from the scene show a large, fiery crater in the middle of the road. Officials at a news conference on Monday said debris was scattered across sports fields, businesses, and homes, which could suggest the plane broke up before it hit the ground.

Filgueiras’s mother, Camila Corteleti, confirmed to reporters that her daughter had died in the crash. Corteleti said her daughter “loved the freedom” and found it “completely different seeing the world from the top.”

In a 2023 interview, Filgueiras spoke about getting her pilot’s license while still in high school. “I like being different than everyone,” she said at the time. “Some people think that it’s weird that I can fly planes, but I can’t drive a car.” None of the other eight people on board have been identified.

Unverified footage posted on social media reportedly shows a dash camera recording of the moment of the crash. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described seeing the video as “a jarring thing,” adding, “It’s like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the crash a “horrific tragedy.”

Thunderstorms had been reported in the area at the time of the crash. President Trump was at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday morning and departed from a nearby airport on Air Force One about an hour before the incident.

The NTSB said the crew reported ice and turbulence, and the agency is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Learjet representatives, meteorologists, and air traffic control experts as part of its investigation. The NTSB’s British counterpart, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, handles comparable cases, including a fatal Greater Manchester plane crash. Officials are also trying to determine whether a cockpit voice recorder was on board and whether it can be recovered.

Timothy Monville, an air safety investigator with the NTSB, said recovering the wreckage from the crater on the roadway will be a “daunting challenge.” The NTSB said determining the probable cause of the crash will be a “lengthy investigatory process.”