Pilot in Florida plane crash said “we’re managing the ice” before declaring “Mayday”

Audio recordings reveal that the pilot of a plane that crashed in Florida on Sunday said “we’re managing the ice” shortly before declaring “Mayday.”

The jet crashed into a neighborhood along a busy road, killing all nine people on board the aircraft as it burst into a massive fireball and left a huge crater in Palm Beach County.

The Learjet 60 left from Austin, Texas, and was en route to the Bahamas when the pilot began to report weather and turbulence issues, according to the FAA.

“We’re managing the ice, but it is moderate turbulence,” the pilot of the business jet could be heard saying in an air traffic control audio recording.

The pilot made multiple distress calls amid the severe weather, which officials believe may have been a factor in the crash.

“722 Bravo Delta, we’re descending 8,000, Mayday, Mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot said. 

The messages grew increasingly alarming in the final moments: “Declare an emergency 722 Bravo Delta, we are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute.” 

The last data broadcast from the aircraft showed it was flying at an altitude of nearly 9,000 feet and then nosedived at a speed of more than 32,000 feet per minute — about 363 mph.

Several sources have confirmed to CBS News that Nathalia Filgueiras, 20, was the co-pilot of the plane. She was featured in a 2023 report by CBS affiliate WPEC. The captain was identified as Jeffrey Gregory, 55, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter and a manifest obtained by CBS. 

CBS News has confirmed that among the passengers were Adam Robinson, 44, and Helen Sharp, 40, a couple from Austin, Texas, and their two young children, ages 2 and 4. There were also two people in their 30s and one person in their 20s on board, whose names are being withheld pending confirmation of family notifications. 

Robert Sumwalt, a former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and a CBS News transportation safety expert, said it is very hard to regain control of an airplane after control is lost due to icing. He said ice on wings can be fatal.

“One, it adds weight, but more importantly, it disrupts the smooth flow of air across the top of the wings and any disruption to the flow of air across the top of the wing can severely affect the aerodynamic performance of the airplane,” he said.

The NTSB will be leading the investigation. 

“We do have some indication that the aircraft was breaking up before impact,” NTSB board member Tom Chapman said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.”

No one on the ground died in the crash, but the NTSB said one person suffered a leg ingury. 

People who were nearby at the time described the intensity of its impact.

“It felt like it was right next to us,” said Aki Kuusisto. “Like driving down the road, we heard the whistle and the boom and you could feel it in the car, it was that close.”

Other witnesses described their home shaking and lights flickering.