NTSB finds evidence Florida Learjet broke apart before impact

The Learjet 60 that slammed into a residential neighborhood near West Palm Beach on Sunday, killing all nine aboard, showed evidence of breaking up before it hit the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday. "We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact," NTSB member Tom Chapman told reporters. "We're still seeking to determine that."

The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas and came down around 12:50 p.m. near Cresthaven in Greenacres, roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. A car's dashcam captured the final seconds: the aircraft plunging into the road at high speed and exploding on impact, leaving a large hole in the ground.

The radio transmissions trace the collapse in real time. About two minutes before the mayday, a woman aboard reported "light, clear ice" — manageable — together with moderate turbulence. Then the jet began picking up precipitation and asked to climb. Controllers approved the request. Less than thirty seconds later came a transmission announcing a descent, followed by the mayday: a descent of 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000, then "We're gonna crash into the ground," and a scream.

The co-pilot was Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, identified by her family. She learned to fly from her father, a pilot, and had held a license since she was 17; her sister Giulia told NBC News that flying had been Nathalia's dream since she was very young. Her final text message to her boyfriend, sent shortly before the crash, described the ice and turbulence ahead.

The passengers included a 45-year-old technology entrepreneur, his 40-year-old wife, their two toddlers, the children's nanny and friends of the couple — seven passengers and two crew in all. The aircraft's registered owner is a Delaware company, and no operator has stepped forward to say who decided the flight should go. The Daily Mail reports that the same Learjet was involved in another incident weeks before the crash, flown by a female pilot, with echoes of the maneuver that killed nine people on Sunday.

On the ground, about 600 residents were displaced and 77 mobile homes near the wreckage site evacuated, with no date set for their return. Governor Ron DeSantis, who saw the video, said the jet "looked like a missile going down" and described the crash as "cataclysmic." Weather will be a major focus of the investigation: a flood watch covered southern Florida on Sunday, with showers and scattered thunderstorms forecast through Monday. Bombardier, which manufactures the Learjet 60, said it was "deeply saddened" and would not comment on a potential cause before the investigation concludes.

The NTSB is still working to determine whether the jet broke up in flight. Weeks earlier, the same aircraft had flown through a similar episode and kept flying.