On Sunday afternoon a Learjet 60 departing Austin, Texas for the Bahamas went down in a residential neighborhood of Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft, which was headed to North Eleuthera Airport, impacted near Cresthaven around 12:50 p.m., prompting the evacuation of roughly 600 residents from a nearby mobile‑home community.
Victims identified
The co‑pilot has been identified as 20‑year‑old Nathalia Gadelha, a Palm Beach County native who earned her private pilot’s license at 17 while attending West Boca Raton High School. Gadelha’s mother and stepfather confirmed her identity to the New York Post. She had accumulated 88 flight hours, graduated from American Flyers flight school in Addison, Texas, and aspired to become a commercial airline pilot.
Flight details and emergency calls
Federal Aviation Administration records show the Learjet 60 left Austin‑Bergstrom International Airport and was en route to the Bahamas when air‑traffic control recordings captured the crew reporting light, clear ice and moderate turbulence. The pilots requested a climb of 2,000 feet before declaring an emergency as the aircraft began a rapid descent. Radio transmissions included a mayday call and warnings of an overspeed condition, with the crew reporting a descent rate of up to 20,000 feet per minute before the crash.
Official response
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the nine fatalities, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the incident as “cataclysmic.” The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations, with the NTSB expected to release an update on Monday.
Community impact
The crash caused significant disruption to the surrounding neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of an estimated 600 residents from a nearby mobile‑home park. Local officials are coordinating with emergency services to support displaced families and assess property damage.
Authorities continue to gather evidence, including flight‑data recordings and eyewitness accounts, to determine the cause of the tragedy.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
