Audio from a Miami air traffic control center has captured the final moments of the jet before it crashed in Florida, killing nine people. The recording was published by LiveATC, a private U.S. platform that streams and archives communications between pilots and air traffic controllers through a network of mainly volunteer-operated receivers.
At first, someone in the cockpit told a controller that the crew was dealing with icing and moderate turbulence while seeking more favorable flight conditions. Less than a minute later, the same speaker issued a mayday call and reported that the aircraft was descending suddenly at 10,000 feet per minute.
Seconds afterward, the crew declared an emergency and said the descent rate had increased to 20,000 feet per minute. Fewer than 20 seconds later, the cockpit warned, “We’re going to crash into the ground,” while reporting a descent rate of 22,000 feet per minute as the aircraft began to bank laterally.
The last words recorded from the cockpit came about 35 seconds after the first emergency warning: “We’ve run out of time.” They were spoken hurriedly.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said its data showed that the aircraft’s vertical descent rate exceeded 32,000 feet per minute at one point.
Sources: La Vanguardia.