Investigators suspect Learjet broke apart before fatal Florida crash

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday a Learjet 60 that crashed on Sunday in a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, ‌killing all nine people on board, may have broken up before hitting the ground at high speed.

The private Bombardier-made BBDb.TO jet had taken off from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were occurring in the area where it went down.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, posting on X, highlighted the harrowing experience of those on the aircraft, including the 20-year-old copilot.

"She was doing her job, communicating with (air traffic control) right to the end in a terrifying situation," Isaacman wrote. "She likely knew before many of those calls that she was going to die."

A jet can break up in midair at very high rates of descent, subjecting passengers to extreme physical forces.

Videos on social ​media showed the jet slamming into the ground next to a road and exploding. The pilots reported ice at 35,000 feet (10,668 m) but then reported the plane was descending at a ​rate of 10,000 feet per minute, which quickly increased to 22,000 feet per minute.

"The weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation," NTSB board member Tom Chapman said. Maintenance records indicate a cockpit voice recorder was installed on the jet, but investigators do not know whether it was still on board, he added.

The crash left a massive crater ​by the road near the entrance to a mobile home park, which was partially filled with water because of the severe storms, Chapman said.

"We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact," he said. "We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site."

TMZ identified the passengers as a Texas tech entrepreneur and his family, a nanny and two close friends, along with two pilots.

-Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Edmund Klamann/Reuters