Learjet 60 Crash in Palm Beach County Kills All 9 Aboard

Updated 20:53 UTC, Nov 3

At a news conference on Tuesday, November 3, NTSB board member Tom Chapman said the majority of the Learjet 60 left elevator was located on Monday in three pieces within a range of about 1.3 to 3.8 miles from the accident site, and those items are being retained for analysis. "Yesterday, the majority of the aircraft's left elevator was located in three pieces within a range about 1.3 to 3.8 miles away from the accident site. Those items are being retained for analysis," Chapman said. "Finding that piece is a very significant bit of evidence."

Chapman said the find confirms and specifies what he told reporters on Monday. "It tells us that at least some components, some pieces of the aircraft, important pieces of the aircraft separated before the impact," he said. The left elevator is a critical control surface that controls pitch, the up and down motion of the nose of the plane, CNN reported.

Chapman said investigators do not yet know whether the loss of the piece caused the aircraft to lose control or was a result of the forces on the aircraft, and that more analysis is needed. Investigators will determine whether the breakup was the cause or a result of the dive, the New York Post reported.

The Tuesday news conference was held at 3 p.m. ET at the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center and was led by Chapman, as the Monday briefing was, the Palm Beach Post reported. Chapman encouraged anyone in the area who finds a piece that may belong to the aircraft to leave it alone and contact the NTSB or local authorities. Authorities had initially estimated debris spread in a radius of about half a mile from the crash site at Military Trail and Cresthaven Boulevard. The crash on November 1 killed all nine people aboard the Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.

Updated 22:05 UTC, Nov 2

Relatives of the passengers issued a joint statement on Monday identifying the seven passengers killed in the crash. They named Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their children Emma, 2, and Charlie, 4, along with the children's nanny Anita Maria Cetina and family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The Palm Beach Post reported the families issued the statement on Monday, and People and the New York Post published the same names from the statement. Authorities have not formally released the names of those aboard.

Robinson was an Austin tech founder, according to reports by People and the New York Post. The joint statement said Adam and Helen were devoted parents and that Emma and Charlie were the light of their lives. It described Reed and Fehr as full of joy and adventure and said Cetina cared for the children with tenderness and devotion.

The identification follows the NTSB briefing earlier on Monday, covered in the update below, at which investigators said there is evidence the jet began breaking up before impact and that weather at altitude is a major focus of the investigation.

Updated 19:40 UTC, Nov 2

NTSB member Tom Chapman told reporters at the board's first briefing on Monday that investigators have evidence the Learjet 60 began breaking up before it hit the ground. "We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact. We are still seeking to determine that," Chapman said, adding that parts may be found some distance from the crash site. USA Today reported the debris field measures about half a mile by four-tenths of a mile.

Chapman said the weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation and that investigators have to determine what the weather was like at about 35,000 feet. CNN reported the crew reported ice building up on the aircraft, an outside temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius (minus 52 degrees Fahrenheit) and moderate turbulence, and that the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began to fall. AvWeb reported Chapman said maintenance records indicate a cockpit voice recorder was installed on the aircraft, while CNN noted it is not yet clear whether a recorder was on board.

Authorities have not identified the nine people killed. CNN reported the family of Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, identified her as the co-pilot. Her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, told CNN Brasil: "She was a very good girl, responsible, hardworking." The Palm Beach Post reported a married couple and their two young children were among the passengers, and that the fathers of both parents confirmed their identities to the Post. The Post withheld their names while families are notified.

CNN reported the crash is the second deadliest plane crash in the United States this year, according to NTSB records, and the deadliest crash involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. The NTSB is expected to issue a preliminary report within 30 days.

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, killing all nine people on board, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The jet had flown from Austin, Texas, and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it came down near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in the Greenacres area at about 12:50 p.m. ET.

No one on the ground was reported killed or injured, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said after visiting the site. The impact left a crater beside the road and scattered debris near a mobile home community. About 600 nearby residents were evacuated while crews worked at the scene.

The final minutes

The aircraft, a 2004 Learjet 60 registered N722BD, fell from about 35,000 feet to under 9,000 feet in a little over a minute, according to flight data cited by the Federal Aviation Administration. CNN reported that air traffic control recordings captured the crew describing icing, moderate turbulence and precipitation, then asking to climb before the jet entered its steep descent.

Recordings shared online since Sunday have driven much of the public attention on the crash. Investigators have not verified any single recording as the complete account, and officials have not named a cause. The people on board had not been publicly identified by Sunday evening.

Who is investigating

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and sent a go-team to Florida, with investigators arriving Sunday and Monday. The FAA is sending its own team to support the board. The NTSB scheduled a media briefing in West Palm Beach for Monday, November 2, and typically issues a preliminary report within about 30 days of a crash.

Duffy called the crash a "horrific tragedy" in a post on X and said the FAA would support the investigation. DeSantis described the impact as "cataclysmic" and said authorities had no reports of injuries on the ground at the time of his briefing.

Why it matters

Business jets operate under the same federal safety rules as other civil aircraft, but a crash into a neighborhood raises a second set of questions about flight paths over homes. The jet came down next to a busy road and a mobile home park in daylight. That no one on the ground was hurt is the fact officials returned to most on Sunday.

What happens next

The NTSB briefing on Monday is the first scheduled update. Investigators will examine the wreckage, flight data, weather records and the crew's communications before drawing conclusions, a process that usually takes a year or more for a final report. The Orbit Post will update this story when the board releases its first findings.

Key numbers

• 9 people on board, all killed
• About 12:50 p.m. ET, Sunday, November 1: time of the crash
• About 35,000 feet to under 9,000 feet in a little over a minute: the recorded descent
• About 600 residents evacuated near the site
• 2004: year the Learjet 60, registration N722BD, was built