Florida Learjet Crash 11/1/26: Possible cause? (1 Viewer)

[AerialTorpedoDude69]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSngzLP6fR8

Video has some disturbing content, including the crash itself as well as the copilot's communications with ground. This video makes the incredibly dodgy claim that icing may have caused the crash.

When an aircraft nosedives at near the speed of sound into the ground, isn't it always because of lost elevator control, right? This is clearly a maintenance failure.

I believe this is around the seventh fatal crash in the US since 2025. Before that there were zero as far back as I can remember.

 

[GrauGeist]

They had ascended to 35,000 feet, heading east and flew unto a major storm cell.
It was at that time the pilot reported icing and then shortly after that, issued a Mayday.

If you look at the dash cam footage moments before impact, the aircraft is missing it's horizontal stabilizers.

It would appear the violent up and down drafts in the storm cell may have compromised the aircraft. Without the rear stabilizers, there would be no way to control the pitch.

 

[skyking1]

Nothing dodgy about say it was probably icing. It was weather for certain IMO.
The Lear 60 is subject to a phenomenon called "mach tuck".
At altitude it has a very narrow range of operation, and is not tolerant or forgiving of things like ice and extreme turbulence at that end of the envelope.
Once it noses over the pilot has little time to recover before the airframe exceeds it's capabilities.
This is not a maintenance failure, it is the case of exceeding the envelope.
Regardless, the NTSB will sort it out in about 6 months. That is typical for timing.
The Stabilizer will be located and it will tell the tale. They can look at all the pieces and tell how it was broken.

 

[skyking1]

They had ascended to 35,000 feet, heading east and flew unto a major storm cell.
It was at that time the pilot reported icing and then shortly after that, issued a Mayday.

If you look at the dash cam footage moments before impact, the aircraft is missing it's horizontal stabilizers.

It would appear the violent up and down drafts in the storm cell may have compromised the aircraft. Without the rear stabilizers, there would be no way to control the pitch.

Try as I might, I can't make out the left wing either.
EDIT: I found another frame of the dashcam video that shows the left wing.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Nothing dodgy about say it was probably icing. It was weather for certain IMO.
The Lear 60 is subject to a phenomenon called "mach tuck".
At altitude it has a very narrow range of operation, and is not tolerant or forgiving of things like ice and extreme turbulence at that end of the envelope.
Once it noses over the pilot has little time to recover before the airframe exceeds it's capabilities.
This is not a maintenance failure, it is the case of exceeding the envelope.
Regardless, the NTSB will sort it out in about 6 months. That is typical for timing.
The Stabilizer will be located and it will tell the tale. They can look at all the pieces and tell how it was broken.

Pieces of the stabilizer were found 4 miles away.

 

[AerialTorpedoDude69]

Great answers everyone. Thank you.

Aerial phenomena like microbursts can exert incredible amounts of downward force on aircraft. But is it normal for the horizontal stabilizer to pop off or could that be a sign of a structural or mechanical issue with the aircraft?

Nothing dodgy about say it was probably icing. It was weather for certain IMO.
The Lear 60 is subject to a phenomenon called "mach tuck".
At altitude it has a very narrow range of operation, and is not tolerant or forgiving of things like ice and extreme turbulence at that end of the envelope.
Once it noses over the pilot has little time to recover before the airframe exceeds it's capabilities.
This is not a maintenance failure, it is the case of exceeding the envelope.
Regardless, the NTSB will sort it out in about 6 months. That is typical for timing.
The Stabilizer will be located and it will tell the tale. They can look at all the pieces and tell how it was broken.

That is incredible, thank you.

I'm surprised that a modern aircraft could suffer from this. It is also a bit strange that this would happen as the aircraft was in a climb and entering a storm. Maybe there was a combination of factors, such as the Learjet's tendency to pull downward at high speeds combined with a microburst?