Investigators believe the Florida Learjet that killed nine began breaking apart before impact, scattering tail pieces nearly four miles away
The tail section of Learjet 60 N722BD, whose co-pilot was heard screaming the jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute in an overspeed condition before impact.Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras (left), the co-pilot, pictured with pilot Jeff Gregory, whose final recorded words were the Lord's Prayer as the Learjet plunged towards the ground.Dashcam footage of the Learjet 60's impact near West Palm Beach, as Transport Secretary Sean Duffy called the crash "a horrific tragedy.Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, and their children Emma and Charlie, who were among the nine killed; the crew had reported light icing and requested clearance to climb to 37,000 feet before issuing a mayday call less than 30 seconds later.
Co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, stayed calm enough to relay critical data to air traffic controllers until the final moments — her best friend Mikaela Schluth called the audio recording "the worst thing I've ever heard." Investigators recovered the Learjet's left elevator in three fragments spread across 1.3 to 3.8 miles, a pattern suggesting the tail component separated mid-flight rather than on impact.
NTSB member Tom Chapman warned that even an intact elevator may not have saved the jet, given its 20,000-feet-per-minute plunge.
Aviation expert Justin Crabbe believes the pilots fell victim to "get-there-itis" — pressing on through a deadly storm rather than diverting around it.
Filgueiras's stepfather Thiago Corteleti said outside the family's Boca Raton home: 'Our daughter is down there, under the ground with that airplane.'
