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Air traffic control audio has revealed that the Learjet 60 involved in the fatal crash in Palm Beach experienced a severe altitude-control incident months before the tragedy that killed all nine people on board, according to reports.
The earlier exchange, recorded in May as the aircraft flew near Newark, New Jersey, captured a female pilot telling controllers that the twin-jet was experiencing “moderate chop” and struggling to maintain its altitude. A Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controller immediately rejected that characterization, stating on the recording: “If you can’t maintain altitude, that’s not moderate. That’s severe turbulence.”
According to the reports from mirror.co.uk, AOL.co.uk, and The U.S. Sun, the controller instructed the crew to descend immediately to 4,000 feet. When a male pilot on the flight deck reiterated that they were encountering moderate chop, the controller pushed back again, asking if they were experiencing severe turbulence. Both pilots repeatedly answered in the affirmative.
The aircraft involved in the May incident carried the exact same FAA registration as the plane that went down on Sunday: N722BD, a Learjet 60 with serial number 60-271. It remains unconfirmed whether the female pilot speaking on the May recording was on board during Sunday’s fatal flight.
The Fatal Palm Beach Flight and Last Moments
Sunday’s crash occurred in Palm Beach, claiming the lives of all nine occupants. Among the passengers identified by mirror.co.uk were 44-year-old multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, Helen, 40, their two children Emma, four, and Charlie, two, their nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and two family friends, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.
The flight’s captain was identified by TMZ—and cited across the network reports—as 55-year-old Jeff Gregory. He was flying alongside 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. Family members noted that Filgueiras had earned her private pilot’s license at age 17 and had accumulated approximately 1,300 hours of flight experience.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman stated during a Monday press conference that the aircraft was operating in temperatures reaching minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit when it encountered extreme weather conditions. Filgueiras had earlier contacted air traffic controllers to report that the crew was managing icing on the airframe and requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet, which was approved.
Less than half a minute later, at 12:48 p.m., the crew transmitted a frantic mayday call. “We are in an overspeed condition, descending 20,000ft per minute,” the transmission stated. As the descent accelerated, Filgueiras radioed, “We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000ft per minute.” Audio recordings captured the captain reciting the Lord’s Prayer before Filgueiras uttered her final words—”holy f**k we’re out of time”—and the communication abruptly ceased.
Ongoing NTSB Investigation into Weather and Structural Integrity
Investigators from the NTSB, numbering around 20 personnel, have been deployed to examine the wreckage, aircraft systems, and weather records. Chapman confirmed at the press conference that preliminary evidence indicates the aircraft suffered in-flight breakup prior to ground impact, leaving a debris field and crater distributed across the surrounding Palm Beach area.
Federal authorities are focusing heavily on the extreme meteorological conditions, severe turbulence, and high-altitude icing encountered during the flight. While communication logs from both Sunday’s tragedy and the May incident near Newark point to persistent altitude control challenges under duress, officials have not yet determined the definitive mechanical or environmental sequence that triggered the rapid descent.
