NTSB says Learjet 60 broke apart in flight before Palm Beach crash

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the private Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County after suffering an in-flight breakup, a finding supported by debris scattered across a wide area. This assessment follows the fatal crash that killed all nine people on board during a flight from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.

NTSB member Tom Chapman confirmed the findings during a press conference on Tuesday. Investigators recovered parts of the aircraft as far as 3.8 miles from the initial impact crater. The location of a tail section at that distance suggests the plane was already disintegrating before it reached the ground.

Chapman noted that the elevator, the control surface responsible for pitch, was found in three separate pieces. He stated that the pilots likely could not have corrected the nosedive without an intact elevator. "The function of the elevator is to control the pitch up and down," Chapman said. "At those speeds I don't know that it would've been effective even if it had still been attached to the aircraft, but knowing that it was lost is a very important piece of evidence in terms of pointing us towards other things to investigate."

The investigation aligns with earlier reports from Monday that indicated structural failure began prior to impact. Co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, reported severe ice accumulation and turbulence to air traffic controllers in the minutes before the crash. She described vertical movements exceeding 700 feet and noted a rapid descent before the aircraft struck the ground and caught fire.

The victims included Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, a couple from Austin, and their two children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2. Other passengers were Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr, and Anita Maria Cetina. The other pilot was identified as Jeff Gregory, 55. Cockpit audio recordings captured a man reciting the Lord's Prayer as the plane descended, a sound friends attributed to Gregory.

Filgueiras received her pilot's license before obtaining her driver's license while attending high school in Boca Raton. WPEC, the local CBS affiliate, had interviewed her three years ago when she was a senior. The investigation continues to analyze the specific conditions that led to the ice buildup and turbulence.