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Listen to woman flying Learjet that crashed being scolded by air traffic control for downplaying turbulence months before Florida fireball
Air traffic control audio from May records a woman flying Learjet N7226D being corrected after she described turbulence as moderate while the aircraft could not maintain altitude. The controller said that inability to hold altitude indicated severe turbulence and instructed the crew to descend. The same aircraft later crashed in Florida, killing all nine people on board, including co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20.
It is unclear whether Filgueiras was the woman speaking in the earlier recording. The Learjet crashed on Sunday while travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, amid stormy weather; investigators are examining what happened. Experts have suggested the aircraft may have encountered “coffin corner”, a narrow range of safe speeds at high altitude, but the cause has not been established.
In short
- Audio captures a Learjet crew reporting turbulence in May.
- The controller classified it as severe and ordered a descent.
- The same aircraft later crashed in Florida, killing nine.
Explained simply
A Learjet is a small business jet, and air traffic controllers help pilots navigate and respond to conditions such as turbulence. Turbulence is usually described by how strongly it affects an aircraft; difficulty maintaining altitude can be a sign that the conditions are severe.
The aircraft in this story later crashed in Florida during a flight from Texas to the Bahamas, killing everyone on board. Investigators are examining the circumstances, including the stormy weather, and have not established the cause.
“Coffin corner” is a term for a situation at high altitude where an aircraft has a very narrow range of safe speeds. Experts have raised it as one possibility, but it has not been confirmed as a factor in the crash.