Audio reveals pilot's frantic call before Florida jet crash
Nov 3, 2026
A devastating scene in a Florida neighborhood.
A small private plane crashed, leaving a gaping crater.
Now investigators are trying to piece together what happened.
The biggest obstacle that we're going to have is recovering.
The major wreckage from the impacted crater on the roadway.
It's hard to see, but this dash cam video shows
the plane diving almost straight down.
All nine on board were killed.
That was a...
The Learjet 60 left Austin, Texas on Sunday, headed for the Bahamas.
Over Florida, the co-pilot told air traffic control they
were navigating through big storms.
We're managing the ice, but it is moderate turbulence.
But quickly, things got worse.
Mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute.
The plane was falling fast.
Declared emergency, 722 Bravo Delta.
We are in an over-speed condition.
And in the final moments, a sober realization.
Crash into the ground.
The co-pilot heard in those recordings 20-year-old Natalia Figuera,
her mother confirmed to U.S. media.
She was in the cockpit along with a pilot with years of experience.
Three years ago she made the local news for getting her pilot's license
while still in high school.
Some people think that it's like weird
because I can fly planes but I can't drive a car.
Crash investigators say it looks like
the plane broke apart before hitting the ground.
If the tail separated, like everyone seems to be thinking,
there was an in-flight breakup.
There's nothing to control the airplane
to bring the nose back up level.
Instead, it just tips over and comes down like a lawn dart.
The plane didn't have a flight data recorder,
but may have had a cockpit voice recorder.
Its condition? Unclear.
We'll be better off with it. Without it, our folks are very, very good.
We're still able to do some incredible detective work
and determine how things transpired.
But the same bad weather that may have contributed to this crash
is also making it harder for investigators
to figure out what went so horribly wrong.
Peter Cowan, CBC News, St. John's.