Federal investigators are examining severe weather conditions as a primary factor in the fatal crash of a private jet that went down in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that ice was forming on the aircraft as it encountered moderate turbulence on Sunday afternoon. Miami air traffic control had granted the flight permission to climb from 35,000 feet to 37,000 feet to clear precipitation, but an emergency was declared shortly afterward.
Flight recordings captured the final moments in the cockpit as the aircraft experienced a catastrophic, rapid descent. Someone inside the cockpit radioed a mayday call, reporting that the plane was dropping at 10,000 feet per minute before stating, “We’re going to crash into the ground.” As the descent accelerated past 22,000 feet per minute and the plane began to bank, the final transmission captured was “we’re out of time.” Flight data later indicated the vertical descent rate exceeded 32,000 feet per minute at one point.
The Learjet 60 had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. It crashed at approximately 12:50 p.m. near Cresthaven in Greenacres, according to federal transportation officials. The impact created a massive crater near the entrance to a mobile home park, prompting local authorities to evacuate about 600 residents to two emergency shelters.
All nine occupants—comprising two crew members and seven passengers—were killed in the accident. Camila Corteleti identified her 20-year-old daughter, Nathalia Filgueiras, as one of the pilots on board. According to her mother, Filgueiras earned her pilot’s license at 17, had logged more than 1,300 flight hours, and worked for a Fort Lauderdale-based private charter firm. Investigators have not yet determined whether Filgueiras was at the controls when the plane went down, and other victims have not been publicly identified by officials.
Dashcam footage captured by a passing motorist showed the aircraft plunging toward the ground beside a road and erupting into a fireball, narrowly missing vehicles and homes. While Governor Ron DeSantis reported no immediate injuries on the ground, residents described a chaotic scene with debris showering nearby properties, knocking out power, and igniting localized fires.
NTSB senior investigator Timothy Monville told reporters that recovering major wreckage from the impact crater, which is partially filled with water, presents a significant operational hurdle that will take several days. Investigators are also working to determine the status of the cockpit voice recorder and whether structural parts of the plane separated before impact. The agency has appealed to the public for any additional video, audio, or eyewitness information as the inquiry continues.
