Audio of the final communications between a Learjet 60 crew and Miami air traffic control captures the pilots reporting icing and moderate turbulence before the aircraft began a rapid descent. The jet crashed in South Florida on Sunday, November 1, killing nine people.
The recording, published by LiveATC, begins with a crew member telling the controller that the aircraft is encountering icing and turbulence. Asked about the outside temperature, the crew reports minus 47 degrees Celsius and asks whether better flying conditions are available. The controller says conditions should improve ahead.
The crew later reports entering an area of precipitation and requests a new altitude. After the controller authorizes a climb, the situation deteriorates. A pilot declares an emergency and reports that the aircraft is descending at 10,000 feet per minute. Seconds later, the crew says the rate has increased to 20,000 feet per minute and warns, “We’re going to hit the ground.”
The recording captures a further report of a descent at 22,000 feet per minute, followed by shouting and partly unintelligible speech. One voice says, “Look outside,” and a later transmission says, “We’re out of time.” The controller repeatedly tries to re-establish contact, but receives no response.
Reuters reported that it verified the recording by matching an archived audio file with the time of the crash and flight information for a Learjet 60 in the Florida area on November 1. The date also matches records from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue concerning an aircraft accident in the state.
The audio does not establish what caused the aircraft to lose control. The crew’s references to icing, turbulence and precipitation appear in the final communications, but the cause of the crash remains to be determined by investigators.
Sources: Folha Mundo.