Air traffic control audio and flight tracking data are revealing the doomed Learjet’s final minutes, tracing its path from takeoff in Austin, Texas, to its fatal plunge in Greenacres, Florida, where all nine people on board were killed.
Taken together, the records depict a flight crew contending with turbulence and icing before initiating a climb, only to experience an abrupt and violent descent almost immediately afterward, along with an overspeed warning and an in-flight breakup that investigators have yet to fully explain.
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Timeline of Learjet N722BD (all times in Eastern Time):
10:37 a.m. — Departure:
Austin tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, and their children, Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2, along with the children’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, and couple Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on a Bombardier Learjet 60.
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11 a.m. — Reaches cruise altitude:
The Learjet reaches cruise altitude at approximately 41,000 feet, according to flight data. No notable events occur for the next hour and a half.
12:31 p.m. — Air Traffic Control spots precipitation:
While the Learjet was around 41,000 feet in the air, an air traffic controller advised the flight crew of moderate precipitation 5 miles away from them, and then said there were options to go to the left or right. The crew was then told to proceed to a waypoint near Naples, Florida.
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12:32 p.m. — Flight crew asks for a more direct route:
The flight crew asked about proceeding directly toward the Bahamas, which would take them across Florida. Air Traffic Control approved that route, but warned about moderate-to-extreme precipitation along that route and said the turn toward the Bahamas looked poor from a weather standpoint.
12:35 p.m. — Flight crew alters their plan:
The Learjet flight crew altered their plan and indicated it would turn toward Naples, Florida, and then head toward the Bahamas.
12:36 p.m. — Air Traffic Control instructs descent:
Air Traffic Control instructed the Learjet to descend to 35,000 feet.
12:40 p.m. — Air Traffic Control authorizes deviation:
Air Traffic Control authorized left or right deviations for weather, telling the flight crew they could proceed toward the Bahamas when able to. Tracking indicates the plane headed further north toward Palm Beach County.
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12:47 p.m. — Conditions deteriorate:
The flight crew indicated that weather conditions are deteriorating, reporting to Air Traffic Control that there is icing and turbulence, asking the controller if there’s a “better ride” ahead.
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The crew also reported they were beginning to experience precipitation and asked to climb to 37,000 feet.
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12:48 p.m. — Learjet begins climbing, then rapidly descends:
The Learjet climbed to 35,450 feet versus the approved 37,000 feet before rapidly descending. A mayday call was made to Air Traffic Control, as the plane descended at a rate of about 10,000 feet per minute. The descent rate doubled a short period later, increasing to around 20,000 feet per minute.
The controller advised the crew that altitude was at their discretion and asked what they needed. A short time later, the crew advised Air Traffic Control, “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
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“I’m here with you. Talk to me,” the controller said.
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12:49 p.m. — The aircraft crashes:
“Holy f—, we’re out of time!” the flight crew could be heard saying before the plane crashed in Greenacres, Florida.
Alan Diehl, a former NTSB investigator, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that once the Learjet lost controlled flight, the pilots likely had almost no meaningful capacity to bring it back under control.
“For all intents and purposes, they were passengers,” he said.
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“Once you’re caught into this trap, it’s like the proverbial situation of painting yourself in the corner. There are no really good options. There’s three potentially bad options,” Diehl said. The key point here is that they did not have much time … You have literally seconds to respond, and at some point it may have been impossible.”
