A Learjet 60 private jet crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County on Sunday, leaving at least nine people dead. Now, an aviation expert has weighed in on what may have caused the pilot to lose control of the plane.
The fatal crash happened at around 12:50 p.m. Sunday in Palm Beach County, Florida, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The aircraft, a Learjet 60 private jet, had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
A FAA spokesperson told LADbible: “A Learjet 60 crashed in a residential area near Cresthaven, Florida, around 12:50 p.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1. Nine people were on board.
“The aircraft departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
“The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates.”
Learjet 60 private jet crashed
In the moments before the crash, the pilot alerted air traffic control that ice was accumulating on the aircraft. The pilot also reported severe turbulence, saying the jet was being tossed up and down by as much as 700 feet.
DeWitt Ingram, a Learjet-qualified captain who founded and leads aviation consultancy Par-Avion Group, has examined flight-tracking data from the aircraft’s final moments and offered his assessment of what may have gone wrong.
He explained that the jet dropped from around 35,000 feet to the ground in roughly 60 seconds. According to Ingram, thunderstorms may have subjected the aircraft to powerful air currents and extreme turbulence.
“What we saw today is a jet coming out of high altitude very quickly,” he told CBS12 News. “If the pilot flew into the tops of one of the thunderstorms, in that very rough air, he could have damaged the airplane to the point where he lost control.”
He added that an uncontrolled descent may have caused the jet to accelerate, placing immense strain on the aircraft. However, investigators have yet to establish whether weather conditions played a role in the crash, and the investigation is still ongoing.
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