Maximus Aviation sets out what was known on 1 November about the Learjet 60 crash in Florida, in which all nine people on board died.
What the video covers
Written in our own words. It only describes what the video shows and says.Maximus of the Maximus Aviation channel recorded this update on Sunday night, 1 November, to set out what was known at that point about the Learjet 60 crash in Florida. He wants to correct the rumours on social media and says himself that a lot can change within a day.
Aircraft and investigation
He describes the aircraft as a Learjet 60 business jet built in 2004, registration N722BD. According to the FAA, nine people were on board. The NTSB launched a go team and planned its first press briefing for the morning of Monday 2 November. The aircraft is registered to a Delaware company, LR60271 LLC. Maximus says that nothing had been released at that point about the beneficial owners or the operator.
The flight and the reports to ATC
The flight left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas at 15:37 UTC, bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. At 17:35 UTC, near Naples, Florida, it began a descent to 35,000 feet. At 17:48 UTC it climbed briefly, then entered a steep descent turning right.
Maximus summarises the recordings of the radio traffic. The crew reported icing and moderate turbulence and asked for a better ride. They then reported flying in precipitation and requested a climb to 37,000 feet. Shortly after receiving the climb instruction, they reported descending at a high rate in an overspeed condition. Flightradar24 received the last altitude at 17:49:22 UTC: 8,750 feet. The reported vertical rate exceeded 32,000 feet per minute during the descent.
Crash site and aftermath
All nine people on board died. At the time of recording, their names had not been released, and officials had not said how many were crew and how many were passengers. The aircraft came down at about 12:50 p.m. local time near South Military Trail and Cresthaven Boulevard in Greenacres. At the time of recording, there were no reports of deaths or injuries on the ground.
The impact left a large crater, buckled the road and cut local power. About 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community moved to emergency shelters because the debris field blocked the entrance to their neighbourhood.
Rumours and the investigation
Some videos appear to show the aircraft missing its tail stabiliser or a wing, others do not, and Maximus says this is not yet known. He rejects social media stories about a bomb and about political or religious plots. He leaves the cause and the details to the NTSB, which is leading the investigation.
