'Mayday, mayday': Chilling final cockpit calls before 9 die in Florida jet crash

Mayday, mayday, and "We're going to crash into the ground" were among the final words heard from the private jet's cockpit moments before it crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida. The tragic incident occurred on Sunday, claiming the lives of all nine people on board the Learjet 60. The aircraft had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, according to the United States Federal Aviation Administration, as reported by Reuters.

An air traffic control recording, shared on X by user @aviationbrk, captured the plane's last moments. Initially, someone in the cockpit informed an air traffic controller that they were "managing the ice" but were experiencing moderate turbulence and seeking a better route. Less than a minute later, a mayday call was issued, with the pilot reporting that the plane was descending at 10,000 feet per minute.

The descent rate rapidly increased to 20,000 feet per minute within seconds and reached 22,000 feet per minute as an emergency was declared. Approximately 35 seconds after the first mayday call, the last words from the cockpit were "We're out of time." Flight tracking website Flightradar24 revealed that the plane's descent rate exceeded 32,000 feet per minute at one point.

Social media videos depicted the jet slamming into the ground near a road and erupting in flames. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the scene as "a jarring thing" during a press conference at the crash site in Lake Worth Beach. Commissioner Joel Flores stated that the impact created a massive crater near the entrance of a mobile home park, evacuating around 600 residents to two shelters in the county.

Forecaster AccuWeather reported heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area at the time of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the incident, which United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described as a "horrific tragedy." Federal Aviation Administration records indicate that the jet's owner is a Delaware corporation, and Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer, expressed its full support for the investigation.