WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Air traffic control audio captured a Learjet crew’s desperate final messages before the aircraft crashed near a South Florida mobile home park.
  • The Learjet 60 was flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it plunged to the ground.
  • Videos showed an enormous fireball, while the crash left a crater, damaged a mobile home and brought down power lines.
  • Authorities reported multiple fatalities but had not confirmed the exact number of people killed or injured aboard the aircraft and on the ground.

Air traffic control audio captured the panicked final moments aboard a private jet that plunged near a South Florida mobile home park on Sunday. The crash, which occurred around 1 p.m., left at least nine people dead and a scene of fiery destruction.

The Learjet 60 was traveling from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it went down near the Greenacres mobile home community. The aircraft was believed to be worth $2 million.

In the final moments before impact, a female crew member delivered a desperate message to an air traffic controller. “Holy f–k we’re out of time,” she screamed as the aircraft rapidly lost altitude.

Only moments earlier, the pilot had reported moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. The pilot also described “light, clear ice that is manageable” before the situation suddenly deteriorated.

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The manageable conditions did not last. The pilot soon issued a chilling distress call as the Learjet began descending at an extreme rate.

“We’re descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot said. The message offered a grim account of how quickly control of the aircraft was slipping away.

The crew also reported that the jet had entered an overspeed condition. “We are in an overspeed condition, descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot screamed moments earlier.

As the plane continued its terrifying descent, the pilot acknowledged what appeared unavoidable. “We’re going to crash into the ground,” she said before letting out a scream.

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The air traffic controller remained on the radio and tried to get more information from the stricken aircraft. “November two bravo delta, I’m here with you, talk to me,” the controller replied.

A crew member then described the jet’s steep descent and severe banking. “We are descending 22,000 feet, and we are banking, 60 degrees … look outside,” the crew member replied.

That report came just before the haunting final message that the crew was out of time. The audio documented a rapid escalation from turbulence and manageable ice to a mayday call, an overspeed condition, and an imminent crash.

Videos captured the Learjet plunging into the ground and producing an enormous fireball. The impact left a crater in the earth near the mobile home community.

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The aircraft clipped a tree and brought down power lines during the crash, according to Aviation 24/7. The impact was so loud that it “sounded like a missile.”

Wreckage from both the private jet and a mobile home could be seen across the horrific crash site. The destruction showed the impact had reached beyond the aircraft itself and into the Greenacres community.

The crash site was roughly 9 miles from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach County. It was also about four miles south of an airport in West Palm Beach.

Trump had departed from that West Palm Beach airport more than an hour before the fiery crash, according to CNN.

The Learjet 60 was registered to LR60271 LLC, a private business based in Wilmington, Delaware. The aircraft’s planned destination was North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

Authorities said there were “multiple fatalities,” but they had not confirmed precisely how many people were killed or injured. That count included uncertainty about casualties aboard the aircraft and on the ground.

Greenacres is a community for modular and mobile homes located just outside Palm Springs. The Learjet’s plunge left wreckage, damaged property, fallen power lines, and a crater as authorities worked to determine the full human toll.

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