Posted on 11/06/2026 10:00:15 AM PST by xxqqzz
Audio between an air traffic controller and a female pilot flying the Learjet 60 during a flight in May has resurfaced following Sunday’s tragic incident in Palm Beach County.
A man and woman in the cockpit were scolded by air traffic controllers after they appeared to make unapproved altitude adjustments during turbulent conditions, according to audio obtained by the Daily Mail and the U.K. Sun.
What happened with the Learjet 60 in May? The plane was flying near Newark, N.J., at the time when an air traffic controller asked the crew, “Why are you climbing?”
The female pilot answered: “We’re just about to call you, we are experiencing moderate chop and unable to hold altitude.”
The controller responded sternly: “That is not moderate, descend to 4,000 [feet] immediately. If you can’t maintain altitude, that is not moderate, that is severe turbulence. Are you experiencing severe turbulence?”
(Excerpt) Read more at torontosun.com ...
20-year-old girl was handling communications in both cases. The 55-year-old pilot was responsible, because he was the pilot flying and also the pilot in command. She was mostly responsible for the radar though.
Distracted pilot can’t think Straight with a Woman in the cockpit.
I’m no pilot, but I do have a little knowledge in science. If they were experiencing icing on the wings, why would they have ascended? Wouldn’t they have descended because they would’ve hit warmer air which could’ve melted the weight of ice off their wings?
They were trying to rise above turbulence and precipitation. Ice melts rather slowly,in ambient conditions, but the blast air system on board was evidently managing it well enough. (-47 Celsius)
They had storms below them. Descending to lower altitude would put them into the storms. Icing is normally limited to conditions at a specific altitude, so either ascending or descending by several thousand feet is a standard procedure to clear the problem.
Unfortunately, the thunderstorm rose up to meet them. They were right on top of the rising core. There was no good choice available to them.
The key question is "why did they not avoid the storm entirely?". The Learjet has good weather radar and was capable of diverting around the storm.
They turned right into the top of the thunderstorm a few moments before they reported the icing problem. They were already doomed by the time they saw the icing.
Kinda reminds me of Southern Airways Flight 242
April 4, 1977
Had to look up the flight number and date
Production of the original Learjet 60 ended in 2007.
An upgraded version, the Learjet 60XR, entered production in 2007 and was later suspended in 2013. Overall Learjet manufacturing concluded entirely when the final Learjet was delivered in 2021.
Hours in the air takes a toll at some point.
It’s not that simple. Here’s a short five minute video about flying, and thunderstorms. It’s good good graphics and is not too technical. They get into icing about halfway through.
https://www.nzaviator.co.nz/videos/v/the-hidden-dangers-of-thunderstorms-to-aviation
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