Audio captures the final moments
A longtime friend of the co-pilot killed in Sunday's Florida plane crash said that air traffic control audio of her last moments was "definitely, probably the worst thing I've ever heard," according to CBS News.
The co-pilot, 20-year-old Nathalia Filgueiras, was flying with 55-year-old captain Jeffrey Gregory. In the recordings, she reports the jet's rapid descent. "722 Bravo Delta, we're descending 8000 Mayday, Mayday, we're descending 10,000 ft per minute," she said. As the exchange continued, she said: "Declare an emergency 722 Bravo Delta, we are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute."
Mikaela Schluth, who has known Filgueiras since middle school, said she is proud of how her friend handled the situation, "and how she was able to stay calm and give information, up until the last minute."
The victims
The Learjet 60 was traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it crashed in Palm Beach County. All nine people on board were killed.
The passengers were identified as Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, a couple from Austin, and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. The others were Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina.
In a joint statement, the families wrote that "Adam and Helen were devoted parents," and "Charmi and [Rachel] were full of joy and adventure." They said Anita Maria "showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion."
What investigators are examining
CBS News reported that a central question is whether the pilots clearly understood the storm they were approaching. Weather data shows the aircraft entered a rapidly intensifying thunderstorm cell shortly before the pilots reported icing and significant turbulence.
Investigators are also looking at whether the plane's horizontal stabilizer broke off, which would make the aircraft virtually uncontrollable.
Robert Sumwalt, a former National Transportation Safety Board chair and CBS News transportation safety expert, said the two scenarios he sees are both related to the atmosphere. "One is icing, the other is thunderstorms and turbulence associated with the thunderstorm," he said.
Typically, a Learjet 60 would carry weather radar, as airliners do, and pilots generally try to avoid thunderstorms and the turbulence they produce.
Recovery efforts and next steps
A priority for NTSB investigators is recovering the cockpit voice recorder, which they hope will clarify what happened before the crash. Timothy Monville, the NTSB investigator in charge, said of the crash site: "The biggest obstacle that we're going to have is recovering the major wreckage from the impacted crater on the roadway."
Sumwalt said he is very confident investigators will determine the cause and make recommendations to help prevent a similar accident in the future.
