The US National Transportation Safety Board has found evidence that a Learjet 60 may have begun breaking up before it crashed in Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people aboard. NTSB board member Tom Chapman gave the update on 2 November, a day after the charter flight from Austin to the Bahamas came down in Palm Beach County. Investigators have not identified any parts that separated, and the cause remains undetermined.
The aircraft was carrying two pilots and seven passengers on a flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to North Eleuthera Airport. A person in a vehicle on the ground was injured. The crew had reported manageable light clear icing and moderate turbulence at 35,000 feet, then requested to climb. Soon afterwards, the Learjet entered a rapid descent and the crew declared an emergency.
Investigators are examining weather conditions, air traffic control communications, the aircraft’s history and wreckage evidence. The possible breakup may lead them to search beyond the main crash site for debris that could help establish the aircraft’s final sequence of events. The NTSB has not determined whether the aircraft encountered an active thunderstorm or confirmed that any specific component separated in flight. The cockpit voice recorder had not been recovered by the time of the briefing.