Investigators issue major update after plane in fatal Florida crash began descending less than 30 seconds after mayday call
Officials have announced that weather conditions are part of their focus in an investigation into a plane crash in Florida that has resulted in nine deaths, but could not yet confirm whether the aircraft had flown through an active thunderstorm.
A Learjet 60 private jet crashed in Florida with witnesses saying it was 'like a missile going down' when it impacted the ground near West Palm Beach yesterday (1 November), with the aircraft crashing at around 12:50pm local time.
Nine people have been confirmed dead as a result of the crash, meaning that everyone who was on board the plane was killed in the impact and subsequent explosion.
NTSB Member Tom Chapman gave a press conference today (2 November), where he provided further details about the plane crash and the information they communicated to air traffic control.
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During the press conference he was asked about 'ice and turbulence' and said that was 'certainly a factor' of their investigations into how the plane crashed, explaining that three minutes before the plane crashed the crew had reported manageable light ice and some turbulence.
Audio recordings of the plane's crew speaking with air traffic control had someone on board the plane say they were in 'overspeed condition' and about to hit the ground.
Just moments before the audio cut out a woman's voice was heard shouting 'look outside, we're out of time!'.
Chapman said: "The crew transmitted that they were at 35,000 feet with moderate turbulence with altitude deviations of about 700 feet.
"The crew reported the outside temperature was -47 Celsius, which is -53 Fahrenheit, and they were managing the ice but were in moderate turbulence.
"Very soon after the crew transmitted 'we are picking up precipitation requesting to climb to 37,000 feet if able', which was approved by FAA air traffic control.
"Less than 30 seconds later a transmission from the aeroplane announced the descent followed by a Mayday call about 12:48 Eastern, the aeroplane transmitted 'we are in an overspeed condition descending' with the rest unintelligible.
"Subsequent communications described that the aeroplane was descending rapidly and gave an altitude callout. Sadly all aboard were lost."
He said it would be a 'daunting' and 'real challenge' to recover evidence from the crash site.
The only identified victim of the nine dead at this point is 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras, the plane's co-pilot, of the nine souls on board there were two crew members and seven passengers.
He also said there was some evidence that the plane may have started breaking up in mid-air, and they hoped to recover a cockpit voice recorder which would help their investigations.
Previous specifications for the aircraft indicated it did have a voice recorder installed.
Chapman thanked the first responders for their part and encouraged witnesses to come forward, saying that if anyone found debris from the aircraft they shouldn't touch it or try to move it.
"Our investigators will work to thoroughly document relevant evidence and gather additional factual information," he told the press conference.
"Our mission is to understand not just what happened but what happened and to recommend changes to prevent it from happening again.
"We will not be determining the probable cause of the crash while we’re here on scene nor will we speculate about the cause."
Speaking about the plane crash, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a 'horrific tragedy' and asked people to pray for the families of the deceased.
Topics: US News
Joe Harker