Investigators find tail pieces of the Florida Learjet that killed nine nearly four miles away, confirming it broke apart mid-air
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.
The Learjet's left tail elevator — the mechanism controlling the aircraft's vertical pitch — was discovered in three fragments spread between 1.3 and 3.8 miles from the crater in Greenacres, Palm Beach County. NTSB member Tom Chapman called it a "very important piece of evidence" but said investigators have not yet determined whether the part separated before the nosedive began or broke away during the plunge itself. The impact crater, still inaccessible due to storm damage and debris, is expected to be searched from today.
Investigators now believe the Learjet 60 was already breaking apart at altitude before it hit the ground at near-supersonic speed.
Co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, was heard screaming "we are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute" in her final transmission.
The crash site is eight miles from Mar-a-Lago but investigators say it has no connection to the no-fly zone imposed around Trump's estate.
