Florida plane crash: what the pilot said before the plane fell

A recording of the final radio exchange between the crew of a private plane and air traffic controllers in Miami has been released after the crash in Florida. The aircraft came down in a residential area of Palm Beach County, and all nine people on board died, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed.

Moments before the tragedy, the pilot told the controller about moderate turbulence and light icing, which she said could be handled. The situation then deteriorated sharply, and the crew reported a rapid descent. “Mayday, mayday,” the woman said. She soon added that the plane was descending at up to 10,000 feet per minute (3,048 meters per minute) and dangerously accelerating. “We are in an overspeed condition,” came the next message.

“I’m here with you, talk to me,” the controller replied. A crew member said the plane was banking 60 degrees and asked him to look outside. “We’re going to crash,” she warned. The last words on the recording were a desperate “we’re out of time.”

The private plane, valued at about two million dollars according to U.S. media, was flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera airport in the Bahamas. As it fell, it clipped a tree and brought down a power line before crashing into a residential block. The impact caused a massive explosion. “It looked like a missile heading to the ground,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating. According to the ADS-B Exchange tracking service, the plane lost about 27,000 feet (8.2 kilometers) in a single minute before it disappeared from tracking systems. There were thunderstorms in the area at the time, but their possible role in the tragedy has not been confirmed.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz