A Learjet flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas crashed outside Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people aboard. Federal officials said it was too early to establish the cause, though ice and weather were “certainly a factor.”
The twin-engine Bombardier jet was flying at 35,000 feet when it entered a thunderstorm cell at around 12:48 p.m. The 20-year-old co-pilot, Nathalia Filgueiras, told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center there was light, clear ice that was manageable, along with moderate turbulence.
Aviation experts believe some combination of icing, turbulence and human error may have contributed to the crash. Ice can alter a wing’s shape and disrupt its aerodynamics, the experts said. Investigators have cautioned that determining what happened could take months.
Sources: The New York Times Science.