Evidence indicates parts of jet broke off before Florida crash that killed 9, investigators say

“We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,” Chapman said. “We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.”

Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel G. Flores said at the news conference that the county “doesn’t have a clue” when residents living around crash site will be able to return to home.

There were around 77 mobile homes in the area and residents of those homes have been evacuated to a shelter, Flores said.

“Our concern right now is clearing the scene so that our residents can get back to normal,” Flores said. “We don’t really have a timeline as to when they are going to be able to comb through all the evidence and do everything they need to do, and that leaves our community looking for answers.

Mother identifies one of the pilots

The Bahamas-bound jet began its journey at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. Airport spokesperson Jim Reynolds described it as a private aircraft. Authorities have not released the names of the people who died.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office declined to discuss the death investigation, saying it is still in early stages.

Camila Corteleti told the New York Post and New York Times that her daughter, 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, was one of the pilots. She earned her pilot’s license in 2023 while a 17-year-old senior at West Boca Raton Community High School in Florida, local news reports said at the time.

Her pilot’s license showed she had the rating to fly that model of Learjet but not to be in command of the flight.

Her father, Allan Filgueiras, told The Associated Press he wasn’t prepared to speak about the crash.

Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter asked for sympathy for the crash victims.

“Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” she said.

Pilot reported turbulence and ice, then the jet’s rapid descent

The plane was heading east at 35,000 feet (11,000 meters) when the pilot started to report problems.

The pilot said ice was accumulating on the jet and that turbulence was jolting it by as much as 700 feet (213 meters), according to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net. Rain pounded the region on Sunday.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.

The situation rapidly deteriorated.

The pilot requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet (about 610 meters) and then quickly declared an emergency as the jet lost altitude at an alarming rate.

“We’re descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.

“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed. Moments later, the pilot said: “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Video shows the plane banking sharply to the right before crashing and exploding.

“It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis told reporters at the scene. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

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Associated Press writers Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; and Philip Marcelo in East Meadow, New York, contributed.

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This story has been corrected to show the crash happened in Greenacres, not Green Acres.

David Fischer, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Evidence indicates parts of jet broke off before Florida crash that killed 9, investigators say

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