OAN Staff **Lillian Mann**
Authorities have identified the nine victims aboard the Learjet that plummeted to the ground and erupted into a fireball in Palm Beach County, Florida, including a family with young children and a 20-year-old co-pilot.
The twin-engine Learjet 60 took off from Austin, Texas, bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). LiveATC.net radio recordings show that minutes before crashing, the pilot reported ice buildup, an outside temperature of -47°C and moderate turbulence with altitude swings up to 700 feet.
The aircraft then plunged from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in just over a minute — about 350 feet per second — before slamming nose-first into the ground, killing all nine people aboard and leaving a massive crater near a shopping center in Palm Beach.
Authorities have not revealed what caused the crash, though the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that weather conditions are the primary focus of the investigation as South Florida was hit by widespread thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, reduced visibility and moderate turbulence on Sunday before the incident.
Among the nine victims aboard the 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60 was 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.