Nine killed in Florida Learjet crash

All nine people aboard a Learjet were killed when the plane crashed into a residential street in Greenacres, Florida, on Sunday, November 1. The aircraft exploded upon impact, leaving a crater in the roadway near West Palm Beach.

A family representative identified the passengers in a Facebook post, naming Adam Robinson, Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr, and Anita Maria Cetina. The statement described the group as having lost their lives aboard the flight that went down near Greenacres. One of the pilots, Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, was identified by her mother as being 20 years old. The identity of the second pilot remains unconfirmed.

National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said investigators found evidence that the aircraft started breaking up before it struck the ground. He noted that debris could be spread far and wide from the actual impact site. Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti suggested that key tail components may have been lost during turbulence or a nose-dive, which could explain the missile-like profile of the jet before impact.

Weather conditions are a major focus of the probe. Rain pounded the region on Sunday, and one pilot reported icing conditions at high altitude in communications with air traffic control. FlightRadar24 data combined with the flight path suggests the plane flew directly into a rapidly expanding storm cell. Chapman said investigators must still determine the specific weather conditions at 35,000 feet.

The plane was originally equipped with a cockpit voice recorder that investigators hope to recover. NTSB investigator Timothy Monville stated that the scene work will be a several-day process. He identified the biggest obstacle as recovering the major wreckage from the impacted crater on the roadway.