Video recorded by passersby captured the terrifying moment on Sunday afternoon when the Bahamas-bound aircraft plunged from the sky before slamming into the ground and exploding in Greenacres, about 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater as shocked residents looked on in horror. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash site.
Mother identifies one of the pilots
Authorities have not provided any information about what caused the Bahamas-bound jet to crash. NTSB officials planned to hold a news conference in West Palm Beach on Monday afternoon.
The jet began its journey at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. Airport spokesperson Jim Reynolds described it as a private aircraft but could not immediately provide details about who was on board.
Camila Corteleti told the New York Post and New York Times that her daughter, 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was one of the pilots. She earned her pilot's license in 2023 while just 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.
Pilot reported turbulence and ice, then the jet's rapid descent
The plane was heading east at 35,000 feet 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, 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 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, before delivering a devastating acknowledgment of what was about to happen. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
The plane banked sharply to the right before crashing and exploding.
