Learjet breaks apart mid-air before Florida crash killing nine

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 4 Nov, 16:01 · Archive

A Learjet broke apart in mid-air before crashing near West Palm Beach on Sunday, killing all nine people on board.

A Learjet bound for the Bahamas crashed near West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people on board. Video recorded by passersby showed the aircraft in a rapid nosedive before it hit the ground in Greenacres, about 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach, and erupted in flames. Little remained of the plane after the impact.

National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said during a news conference on Monday that investigators found evidence the aircraft started breaking up before it hit the ground. 'We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,' Chapman said. He added that investigators may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration investigator, suggested that key components of the jet's tail may have been lost during the turbulence or as it nose-dived. 'If that happens you cannot control an airplane at that point. And that very well could explain the missile-like profile just before it hit the ground,' Guzzetti said.

A resident living near the crash site described the scene. 'Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire. The road was on fire,' Anthony Blackmon told NBC affiliate WTVJ. He said he had only seen such incidents on the news before.

Weather conditions will be a major focus of the investigation going forward, Chapman said. Investigators are continuing their work to determine the cause of the crash.

How it is being reported

• Pa. pilot believed to be heard reciting prayer as jet goes down in Fla.Investigators are working to figure out why the lear jet crashed, killing all nine people on board.PennLive · 4 Nov, 15:27
• Parts of a Learjet may have broken off midair before Florida crash that killed 9, investigators sayPittsburgh Post-Gazette · 2 Nov, 20:55
• Parts of a Learjet may have broken off midair before Florida crash that killed 9, investigators sayWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Parts of a business jet likely started to break off even before it slammed into the ground and erupted in a ball of flames in South Florida, killing all nine people on board, a federal investigator said Monday.TribLIVE · 2 Nov, 20:50

In this story: West Palm Beach · Greenacres · Bahamas · National Transportation Safety Board · Tom Chapman · Jeff Guzzetti · Anthony Blackmon

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