‘Mayday, mayday.’ A flight from Texas to the Bahamas ended in tragedy. What investigators are examining

It took about 90 seconds for a routine report of ice and turbulence to be replaced by a desperate “Mayday, mayday!” and then silence, as a private jet plunged more than 27,000 feet over the course of one minute toward a Florida roadway.

Inside, a pilot and promising young co-pilot desperately tried to avert disaster for all on board, including a couple with two young children, a family caregiver and two others – all en route from Texas to the Bahamas.

“We’re gonna crash into the ground!” copilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras cried out to air traffic controllers.

Before the plane struck the ground, killing all nine inside, the pilot sent a final transmission.

“We’re out of time.”

The jet slammed nose-first like a missile into a busy Palm Beach County road, before erupting into flames and sending thick black smoke into the sky, dashcam video shows. Bystander video showed a fiery crater gouged into Military Trail, a major highway, with the pavement buckled and shattered around the wreckage.

Residents of a nearby mobile home park ran outside to see what caused the explosion that rattled their homes.

“I heard and felt the boom,” said Andrew Mannino, a Palm Beach County resident. “The power immediately went out.” Then came the smell of smoke, he said, and a large black cloud rising into the sky.

Investigators are now working to determine what caused the aircraft, a Learjet 60, to plunge from about 35,000 feet.

While authorities have yet to identify those on board, their families have named eight of the nine victims as tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, as well as their two children, Emma and Charlie; caretaker Anita Maria Cetina; Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. Filgueiras was also killed. The other pilot has not been identified.

Here’s what we know about the crash and the final moments of those on board.

Aki Kuusisto/UGC/Reuters

The passengers of the Learjet 60 were traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas on Sunday, a route that took them over South Florida.

Scattered storms were passing through the area at the time of the crash, and the plane passed through a strong cell just before it began suddenly descending.

Though it is unclear if the storm contributed to the crash, federal investigators have said it will be part of their investigation.

Minutes before the crash, Filgueiras, the pilot speaking to air traffic control, reported ice accumulating on the aircraft, an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Celsius (-53 degrees Fahrenheit), and moderate turbulence, bouncing the plane by up to 700 feet, according to a recording of radio calls captured by LiveATC.net .

Audio captures moments before Learjet crash

Minutes before the crash, the pilot of the plane reported ice accumulating on the aircraft, an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Celsius, and moderate turbulence.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” Filgueiras radioed the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.

But moments later, after reporting precipitation and requesting to climb, she declared an emergency.

“Mayday, mayday!” Filgueiras said.

“We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute!” she told air traffic controllers.

“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” Filgueiras cried. “We’re going to crash into the ground!”

A timeline of the learjet's final moments

9:37 a.m. CT / 10:37 a.m. ET: The plane takes off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas.

12:47 p.m. ET: The plane is flying over Palm Beach County, Florida, when it turns right to fly toward Freeport, Bahamas. The pilot says the temperature is -47C (-52F) and reports “light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence.”

12:48:00 p.m. ET: The pilot reports precipitation and asks to climb to 37,000 feet. Air traffic control grants the request.

12:48:28 p.m. ET: The pilot declares “mayday” as the plane starts dropping 8,000 feet per minute, then 10,000 feet per minute.

12:48:36 p.m. ET: The plane is plummeting 20,000 feet per minute (333 feet per second), which the pilot says exceeds the aircraft’s limits.

12:48:54 p.m. ET: “We’re going to crash into the ground!” the pilot tells air traffic control.

12:49:01 p.m. ET: The pilot says the plane is falling at a rate of 22,000 feet per minute (367 feet per second).

12:49:17 p.m. ET: In the plane’s final transmission, the pilot says, “We’re out of time.”

Sources: LiveATC.net audio and FlightRadar24

Ultimately, the jet plunged 27,000 feet in one minute, before flight tracking data was cut off, the website ADS-B Exchange shows.

The plane crashed just before 1 p.m. on Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday that one person on the ground sustained a leg injury. Officials initially said no injuries were reported on the ground.

The crash is the second deadliest in the United States this year, according to NTSB records, following June’s skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri , which killed 12. It is also the deadliest crash involving a Learjet 60, according to data from the Flight Safety Foundation.

Robinson, Sharp, and their two children, Emma and Charlie, were identified by family members as being victims, according to a family statement .

Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, “were the light of their lives,” the statement said.

“Helen and Adam were the love affair that will last forever. Their warmth, generosity and gift for making people feel welcome touched so many lives,” the statement reads. “Their loss will be felt deeply by all those who loved them and who they loved in return.”

The couple split their time between Aspen, Colorado, and Austin. Robinson was a tech entrepreneur who co-founded Retention.com , an e-commerce data company. Sharp had worked in public relations and was also a gifted ceramics artist who created minimalistic vases and softly sloping bowls.

“It’s quite a blow,” Dudley Sharp, Helen Sharp’s father, told The Palm Beach Post by phone on Monday. “We had a daughter, her husband and two grandchildren on the plane.”

Traveling with them on the plane was Anita Maria Cetina, who was identified in the family’s statement as the children’s caretaker.

“Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family,” the statement said, adding she leaves a “legacy of unconditional love and devotion.”

Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, two people “full of joy and adventure” were also on board, the family statement said.

“From the moment they met, (Reed and Fehr) were all in on each other and the life they were building,” the statement said.

Rachael Reed/Facebook

Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, the young co-pilot, was just 20 years old, her family told CNN Brasil.

“She was a very good girl – responsible, hardworking,” her mother, Camila Gadelha Corteleti, told CNN Brasil. Her family, who are Brazilian, live in Florida, where Filgueiras was raised, her mother said.

Before Filgueiras even had her driver’s license, she had gotten her hands on a pilot’s license at age 17, her stepfather, Thiago Corteleti, told CNN Brasil. Though some people were taken aback by her eagerness to be in the sky, Filgueiras was excited by it.

From Nathalia Filgueiras

“I like being different than everyone, so to me, I think it’s, like, cool,” Filgueiras told CNN affiliate WPEC in 2023. “Some people think that it’s, like, weird because I can fly planes, but I can’t drive a car. I mean, I can, but a lot of people think it’s funny.”

She had graduated from American Flyers, one of the most prestigious aviation schools in the United States and had already accumulated more than 1,300 flight hours, her family said.

No details have been released about the other pilot on board.

A team of NTSB investigators has begun piecing together what could have caused such a catastrophic crash, but they will have to navigate difficult challenges as they meticulously document the site over the next several days.

“The biggest obstacle that we’re going to have is recovering the major wreckage from the impacted crater on the roadway,” NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Tim Monville said.

The crater is now filled with murky water, and more rounds of rain are expected to sweep through the area until Tuesday, possibly lingering into Wednesday morning.

About 20 investigators were at the scene Sunday and more have arrived since, including NTSB Member Tom Chapman.

Greg Lovett/Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network/Reuters

Chapman told reporters pieces of the aircraft may have broken off before it struck the ground, possibly scattering evidence across nearby roads, ball fields, businesses and homes.

“We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact. We’re still seeking to determine that,” Chapman said Monday. “We may find some parts of the aircraft some distance from the crash site.”

Determining whether the plane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder will also be essential. Aircraft maintenance records show one was installed on the plane, but it is unclear whether it was still on board, Chapman said.

“We’ll be better off with it,” Chapman said when asked whether investigators would be stymied without the recorder. But even without it, he said, “Our folks are very, very good. We’re still able to do some incredible detective work and determine how things transpired.”

Determining how weather may have contributed to the crash will be a major focus of the investigation, Chapman said.

The plane had been flying around 35,000 feet when the pilot reported one of the biggest hazards in aviation: icing.

In January 2024, the NTSB published a safety alert emphasizing the risks of in-flight icing conditions, which can cause pilots to lose control.

Icing can cause an increase in a plane’s weight, a reduction in lift, a decrease in thrust and an increase in drag, according to the Federal Aviation Administration . In other words, icing can slow an aircraft or force it downward.

All clouds at heights where temperatures dip below freezing have the potential to create icing conditions, according to the FAA, and icing can happen any time of year if the conditions are right.

Even in warm weather, thunderstorms generate powerful updrafts, or columns of rising air that cool rapidly. The higher the altitude, the colder the air gets. And temperatures in these updrafts can drop to as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit at the altitudes where planes fly.

Could ice have contributed to a deadly Learjet crash in Florida? CNN's Pete Muntean explains how dangerous icing conditions can develop inside thunderstorms, even at extremely cold temperatures.

Filgueiras told air traffic controllers the temperature outside the plane as -47 degrees Celsius. Ice cannot typically form in air below -40 degrees Celsius, as any liquid at that temperature has already frozen.

But thunderstorms can carry violent internal updrafts, thrusting supercooled water droplets upward even in air colder than -40 degrees Celsius.

The water can remain liquid and freeze on contact with the surfaces of an airplane — much like freezing rain falls as liquid and freezes on cars and roads on contact.

Hundreds of residents of a mobile home park have also been displaced by the crash, the scene of which is blocking the entrance, according to Joel Flores, Palm Beach County commissioner for District 3.

Those residents are advised to stay with relatives or are being housed in two shelters while the site is under investigation, though authorities are looking for alternative temporary housing, he said.

Several residents had left their homes to look at the scene of the crash and were unable to re-enter once police established a perimeter around the crater, Flores said. Some have expressed concern that they have been unable to access their belongings or vehicles, which they need to get to work.

The county is considering it a state of emergency, said county administrator Joseph Abruzzo, who is acting as incident commander. The move would allow officials to unlock emergency funds to help the displaced.

Local officials are also considering how to assist businesses that may be impacted by extended closures in the area, including a strip mall not far from the crash site, Abruzzo said.

The NTSB is aware that the longer its investigation takes, the longer these people will be uprooted.

“We understand the challenges for those folks and we want to do our work as quickly as we can so that the access to the neighborhood can be reestablished,” Monville said Monday.

CNN’s Alexandra Skores, Aaron Cooper, Pete Muntean, Amanda Jackson, Holly Yan, Nic F. Anderson, Sarah Dewberry, Cindy Von Quednow and CNN Meteorologist Dakota Smith contributed to this report.

大约 90 秒后，一架私人飞机在一分钟内从 27000 多英尺的高空骤然坠向佛罗里达州的一条公路，此前机上曾有例行的冰冻和湍流报告，随后传来绝望的“遇险！遇险！”的呼救声，之后便陷入一片寂静。

机舱内，一名飞行员和一位前途无量的年轻副驾驶拼命试图避免机上所有人的灾难，其中包括一对带着两个年幼孩子的夫妇、一名家庭护理员和另外两人——他们正从德克萨斯州飞往巴哈马群岛。

“我们要坠机了！”副驾驶娜塔莉娅·加德利亚·菲尔盖拉斯向空中交通管制员喊道。

飞机坠毁前，飞行员发出了最后通牒，机上九人全部遇难。

“我们时间不够了。”

行车记录仪视频显示，这架喷气式飞机像导弹一样机头朝下猛烈撞击棕榈滩县一条繁忙的公路，随后燃起熊熊大火，浓浓的黑烟冲天而起。旁观者拍摄的视频显示，这条主要公路——军事大道——被撞出一个火光冲天的弹坑，残骸周围的路面隆起破碎。

附近移动房屋公园的居民纷纷跑到外面，想看看是什么原因导致了这场震动房屋的爆炸。

“我听到了巨响，也感觉到了震动，”棕榈滩县居民安德鲁·曼尼诺说。“电力立刻中断了。” 他说，随后闻到了烟味，看到一大片黑烟升腾入云。

调查人员目前正在努力确定是什么原因导致这架里尔60型飞机从约35000英尺的高空坠落。

虽然当局尚未确认机上人员身份，但他们的家属已经确认了九名遇难者中的八位身份，他们分别是科技企业家亚当·罗宾逊和海伦·夏普夫妇及其两个孩子艾玛和查理；保姆安妮塔·玛丽亚·塞蒂娜；瑞秋·里德和查米·费尔。菲尔盖拉斯也在此次事故中丧生。另一名飞行员的身份尚未确定。

以下是我们目前了解到的有关坠机事件以及机上人员最后时刻的情况。

Aki Kuusisto/UGC/路透社

周日，这架里尔60型喷气式飞机的乘客从德克萨斯州奥斯汀飞往巴哈马，途中会经过佛罗里达州南部。

飞机坠毁时，该地区正遭受零星风暴的侵袭，飞机在突然开始下降之前，正好穿过了一个强烈的风暴云团。

虽然目前尚不清楚这场风暴是否是造成坠机的原因，但联邦调查人员表示，这将是他们调查的一部分。

据 LiveATC.net 截获的无线电通话录音显示，在坠机前几分钟，飞行员菲尔盖拉斯向空中交通管制报告说，飞机上积聚了冰，外部气温为零下 47 摄氏度（零下 53 华氏度），并且有中等程度的湍流，飞机颠簸了高达 700 英尺。

音频捕捉里尔喷气式飞机坠毁前的瞬间

飞机坠毁前几分钟，飞行员报告说飞机上积聚了冰，外界气温为零下47摄氏度，并且有中等程度的湍流。

“我们这里有轻薄透明的冰，可以控制，而且有中等程度的湍流，”菲尔盖拉斯通过无线电向迈阿密空中航路交通管制中心报告说。

但片刻之后，在报告降水并请求攀登后，她宣布进入紧急情况。

“求救信号！求救信号！”菲尔盖拉斯喊道。

“我们正在以每分钟 10,000 英尺的速度下降！”她告诉空中交通管制员。

“我们现在处于超速状态，每分钟下降20000英尺，”菲尔盖拉斯喊道。“我们要撞到地面了！”

里尔喷气机最后时刻的时间线

美国中部时间上午 9:37 / 美国东部时间上午 10:37：飞机从德克萨斯州奥斯汀-伯格斯特国际机场起飞。

美国东部时间下午12:47：飞机飞越佛罗里达州棕榈滩县时，向右转弯飞往巴哈马自由港。飞行员称气温为零下47摄氏度（零下52华氏度），并报告“有轻微的透明冰，易于控制，并伴有中等程度的湍流”。

美国东部时间下午12:48:00：飞行员报告有降水，并请求爬升至37000英尺。空中交通管制批准了该请求。

美国东部时间下午 12:48:28：飞机开始以每分钟 8,000 英尺的速度下降，然后以每分钟 10,000 英尺的速度下降，飞行员发出“遇险”信号。

美国东部时间下午 12:48:36：飞机正以每分钟 20,000 英尺（每秒 333 英尺）的速度下降，飞行员表示这超过了飞机的极限。

美国东部时间下午 12:48:54：“我们要坠毁了！”飞行员告诉空中交通管制员。

美国东部时间下午 12:49:01：飞行员说飞机正在以每分钟 22,000 英尺（每秒 367 英尺）的速度下降。

美国东部时间下午 12:49:17：在飞机的最后一次通讯中，飞行员说：“我们时间不够了。”

来源：LiveATC.net 音频和 FlightRadar24

ADS-B Exchange 网站显示，最终，这架喷气式飞机在一分钟内骤降了 27,000 英尺，之后飞行跟踪数据被切断。

棕榈滩县警长办公室称，飞机于下午 1 点前不久在军事大道（Military Trail）上坠毁，地点位于克雷斯特黑文大道（Cresthaven Boulevard）和北 10 大道（10th Avenue North）之间。

美国国家运输安全委员会周一表示，地面上有一人腿部受伤。此前，官方曾表示地面上无人受伤。

根据美国国家运输安全委员会 (NTSB) 的记录，此次坠机事故是美国今年第二严重的空难，仅次于 6 月份发生在密苏里州巴特勒的跳伞飞机坠毁事故，该事故造成 12 人死亡。根据飞行安全基金会的数据，这也是涉及里尔喷气机 60 的最致命的坠机事故。

根据一份家庭声明，罗宾逊、夏普和他们的两个孩子艾玛和查理被家人确认为受害者。

声明中说，4岁的艾玛和2岁的查理“是他们生命中的光”。

“海伦和亚当的爱情将永存。他们的热情、慷慨和待人友善的品质感动了无数人，”声明中写道。“所有爱他们和他们爱的人都会深深地感受到失去他们的悲痛。”

这对夫妇在科罗拉多州阿斯彭和奥斯汀两地轮流居住。罗宾逊是一位科技企业家，联合创办了电子商务数据公司Retention.com。夏普曾从事公共关系工作，同时也是一位才华横溢的陶艺家，擅长创作极简主义风格的花瓶和线条柔和的碗。

“这真是个沉重的打击，”海伦·夏普的父亲达德利·夏普周一通过电话告诉《棕榈滩邮报》，“我们的女儿、女婿和两个孙子都在飞机上。”

与他们一同乘坐飞机的还有安妮塔·玛丽亚·塞蒂娜，家人声明中称她是孩子们的监护人。

声明中说：“安妮塔·玛丽亚温柔体贴地照顾着艾玛和查理，她真正是这个家庭的一份子。”声明还补充说，她留下了“无条件的爱和奉献的遗产”。

家人声明称，瑞秋·里德和查米·费尔这两位“充满快乐和冒险精神”的人也在飞机上。

声明中说：“从他们相遇的那一刻起，（里德和费尔）就全心全意地投入到彼此和他们正在建立的生活中。”

Rachael Reed/Facebook

年轻副驾驶纳塔莉亚·加德尔哈·菲尔盖拉斯 (Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras) 的家人告诉巴西有线电视新闻网 (CNN Brasil)，她年仅 20 岁。

“她是个非常好的女孩——懂事、勤奋，”她的母亲卡米拉·加德利亚·科尔特莱蒂告诉CNN巴西频道。她的母亲说，她的家人都是巴西人，住在佛罗里达州，菲尔盖拉斯在那里长大。

据菲尔盖拉斯的继父蒂亚戈·科尔泰莱蒂告诉CNN巴西频道，菲尔盖拉斯甚至在拿到驾照之前，17岁就取得了飞行员执照。尽管有些人对她如此渴望翱翔蓝天感到惊讶，但菲尔盖拉斯本人却乐在其中。

来自 Nathalia Filgueiras

“我喜欢与众不同，所以我觉得这很酷，”菲尔盖拉斯在2023年接受CNN附属电视台WPEC采访时说道。“有些人觉得这很奇怪，因为我会开飞机，却不会开车。我的意思是，我其实会开，但很多人觉得这很滑稽。”

她的家人说，她毕业于美国最负盛名的航空学校之一——美国飞行员学校，并且已经积累了超过 1300 小时的飞行时间。

目前尚未公布机上另一名飞行员的任何信息。

美国国家运输安全委员会 (NTSB) 的一个调查小组已经开始着手调查导致这场灾难性事故的原因，但在接下来的几天里，他们将在仔细记录现场情况的过程中克服重重困难。

“我们面临的最大障碍是从道路上的撞击坑中回收主要残骸，”美国国家运输安全委员会高级航空安全调查员蒂姆·蒙维尔说。

火山口现在充满了浑浊的水，预计周二之前该地区还将迎来更多降雨，甚至可能持续到周三早上。

周日约有 20 名调查人员在现场，此后又有更多调查人员抵达，其中包括美国国家运输安全委员会成员汤姆·查普曼。

格雷格·洛维特/棕榈滩邮报/今日美国网络/路透社

查普曼告诉记者，飞机残骸可能在撞击地面之前就已经脱落，可能会将证据散落在附近的道路、球场、商店和房屋中。

“我们确实掌握了一些证据，表明飞机在撞击前已经解体。我们仍在努力确定这一点，”查普曼周一表示。“我们可能会在距离坠机地点一段距离的地方找到一些飞机残骸。”

查普曼表示，确定飞机是否配备驾驶舱语音记录器也至关重要。飞机维修记录显示飞机上曾安装过此类记录器，但目前尚不清楚它是否仍在机上。

当被问及如果没有录音机调查是否会受阻时，查普曼说：“有了它我们会更好。”但他同时表示，即使没有录音机，“我们的人非常非常优秀。我们仍然能够开展一些非常出色的侦查工作，并查明事情的真相。”

查普曼表示，确定天气对此次坠机事件的影响程度将是调查的重点。

飞机当时飞行高度约为 35,000 英尺，飞行员报告说航空业最大的危险之一：结冰。

2024 年 1 月，美国国家运输安全委员会 (NTSB) 发布安全警报，强调飞行中结冰的风险，这可能导致飞行员失去控制。

据美国联邦航空管理局称，结冰会导致飞机重量增加、升力减小、推力下降和阻力增大。换句话说，结冰会使飞机减速或被迫下坠。

据美国联邦航空管理局称，所有高度温度低于冰点的云层都有可能造成结冰，如果条件合适，一年中的任何时候都可能发生结冰。

即使在温暖的天气里，雷暴也会产生强大的上升气流，也就是迅速冷却的上升气柱。海拔越高，空气越冷。在飞机飞行的高度，这些上升气流中的温度甚至可​​以降至零下100华氏度。

冰层是否是导致佛罗里达州致命里尔喷气式飞机坠毁事故的原因之一？CNN记者皮特·蒙蒂安解释了即使在极寒温度下，雷暴内部也如何形成危险的结冰状况。

菲尔盖拉斯告诉空中交通管制员，飞机外的温度为零下47摄氏度。通常情况下，低于零下40摄氏度的空气中不会形成冰，因为任何液体在这种温度下都已经冻结。

但雷暴可以携带强烈的内部上升气流，即使在气温低于零下 40 摄氏度的情况下，也能将过冷水滴向上推。

水可以保持液态，接触飞机表面后会结冰——就像冻雨以液态形式落下，接触汽车和道路后结冰一样。

据棕榈滩县第三区专员乔尔·弗洛雷斯称，事故还导致移动房屋公园的数百名居民流离失所，事故现场堵塞了入口。

他说，当局建议这些居民暂时住在亲戚家，或者安置在两个避难所里，同时对现场进行调查，但当局正在寻找其他临时住所。

弗洛雷斯说，一些居民离开家去查看事故现场，警方在弹坑周围设立警戒线后，他们就无法返回家中。一些居民担心他们无法取回自己的财物或车辆，而这些是他们上班所必需的。

县行政长官约瑟夫·阿布鲁佐（Joseph Abruzzo）表示，该县已将此事视为紧急状态。阿布鲁佐目前担任事件指挥官。此举将允许官员们动用紧急资金来帮助流离失所者。

阿布鲁佐表示，当地官员也在考虑如何帮助该地区可能受到长期停业影响的企业，其中包括距离事故现场不远的一家商业街。

美国国家运输安全委员会意识到，调查时间越长，这些人流离失所的时间就越长。

“我们了解这些人面临的挑战，我们希望尽快完成工作，以便重新恢复社区的通行，”蒙维尔周一表示。

CNN的Alexandra Skores、Aaron Cooper、Pete Muntean、Amanda Jackson、Holly Yan、Nic F. Anderson、Sarah Dewberry、Cindy Von Quednow和CNN气象学家Dakota Smith对本报道做出了贡献。