Learjet May Have Broken Up Before Fatal Florida Crash, NTSB Says

US air safety investigators reported early indications that the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, may have broken up before impact, killing all nine people on board and injuring a person on the ground. National Transportation Safety Board Member Tom Chapman stated that the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer could have come off before the crash, as some social media posts indicated.

Adverse weather conditions, including reported turbulence and icing, were being investigated by the NTSB as potential factors. The pilots experienced moderate turbulence and icing, requesting to climb before the plane began a rapid descent and reported an overspeed condition. The pilot's final transmission mentioned being "out of time" before the crash.

Weather at the nearby Palm Beach airport included gusting winds, rain, and low clouds at the time of the crash. The Learjet flew for about two hours after leaving Austin for the Bahamas before its rapid descent around 12:48 p.m. local time on Sunday. Dashboard camera footage showed an almost vertical plunge before impact. The NTSB is still working to determine the exact cause of the crash, with adverse weather conditions being a major focus.