A video reconstructing the final moments before a private jet crashed in Florida, killing at least nine people, has shocked viewers online. It lays out a possible timeline of how the plane went from cruising altitude to the ground so quickly.
The Learjet 60, reportedly worth around $2 million, nosedived into the ground on Sunday, November 1, at around 1 PM. It exploded in a huge fireball and left a massive crater roughly eight to nine miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
How did the crash happen?
The animation was posted on X by the account elteslaengineer. Its narrator says the plane went from 35,000 feet to the ground in just 76 seconds.
The creator rebuilt the last three minutes of the flight in 4D, using ADS-B data, air traffic control audio, NEXRAD weather analysis, and dashcam video. According to the video, the jet was flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it went down “about 200 nm short of its destination,” crashing into the Greenacres mobile home community.
The video points to bad weather as a possible factor. It says a nearby National Weather Service station reported thunderstorms in the area about 15 minutes before the crash, with three-mile visibility and gusts up to 19 knots.
At 12:47 PM, the jet flew into the core of a storm that reached 47,000 feet. Instead of flying over it, the aircraft went through the center, and the video says it climbed 450 feet. Around 20 seconds later, the 35,000-foot plunge began.
Just ten seconds after the descent started, a crew member made a mayday call to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center while the plane was falling at 10,000 feet per minute.
People had strong reactions to the video, with one person writing, “It’s gonna be reallly hard for me to want to go on a plane again.” Another added, “this is a great but very scary explanation of the flight.”
Another person added their disbelief at the situation, they wrote in response to the simulation, “Crazy to think that less than 24 hours ago these people were probably in bed, living their lives normally and just hours later there’s simulations made about their death. It’s mind boggling how fragile life is.”
What did the pilot say?
In the recording of the call, the pilot said, “We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute.”
The pilot then reported an overspeed condition, saying they were descending at 20,000 feet per minute. The last words heard were, “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
About 45 seconds later, the aircraft hit the ground and exploded in a ball of fire. It came down in a community of modular and mobile homes in Greenacres.
Aviation 24/7 reported that the jet clipped a tree on the way down and brought down power lines. The impact was so loud that people said it sounded “like a missile.”
Who was on board?
Authorities have confirmed “multiple fatalities” but haven’t said whether that includes anyone on the ground.
No one who died has been publicly identified. The aircraft was reportedly registered to a private company, LR60271 LLC, in Wilmington, Delaware.
The cause of the crash hasn’t been officially determined. The NTSB is leading the investigation.
We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of those affected by this crash.
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