Learjet Crash in Florida: "Look outside, Jack!" – Nine Dead

All nine people on board were killed when a Learjet 60 crashed into a residential area in the U.S. state of Florida on Sunday, Nov. 1. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced this on the platform X. The aircraft went down at around 12:50 p.m. local time near Greenacres in Palm Beach County. It was en route from Austin-Bergstrom airport in Texas to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation, with support from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The cause remains unclear. The names of the crew and passengers were not initially released.

According to the FAA registry, the aircraft, tail number N722BD, is registered to the company LR60271 LLC in Wilmington, Delaware. Charter databases list Aurora Aviation as the operator under commercial charter flight rules. Jim Reynolds, a spokesman for Austin-Bergstrom airport, described it as a private aircraft.

Radio recording captures distress call

A recording of radio traffic with the call sign "722 Bravo Delta" traces the final minutes of the flight. Its authenticity could not be independently verified. At first, the crew reported moderate turbulence at an altitude of about 10,700 meters, with the aircraft swaying by roughly 200 meters. At minus 47 degrees Celsius, they said they had icing under control.

As precipitation set in, the crew asked for permission to climb to about 11,300 meters. Then came the distress call: "Mayday, Mayday." The aircraft was descending at about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) per minute, the crew reported. They then declared an emergency: the maximum permitted speed had been exceeded, and the rate of descent was about 6,100 meters per minute.

"We're going to hit the ground," the recording says. The crew then reported a bank angle of 60 degrees. At the end, an exclamation can be heard: "Look outside, Jack! Look outside!" – and: "We're out of time." According to the aviation website Simple Flying, tracking data show an unusually high rate of descent shortly before the jet vanished from radar.

Crater next to a road

According to the news agency AP, the jet apparently struck next to a road, narrowly missing houses, and left a crater. A fire burned at the crash site, debris was scattered, and mobile homes and power lines were damaged. The sheriff's office closed Military Trail in both directions between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Miami, it was overcast, with rain and lightning. Visibility was about seven miles.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue initially spoke of a possible mass casualty incident, and hospitals were placed on alert. According to the Palm Beach Post, there were no confirmed deaths or injuries among residents as of the afternoon.