West Palm Beach - New Orleans

The aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, from West Palm Beach, Florida. Only the pilot and copilot were on board the aircraft. About 2 1/2 minutes after the aircraft was reported at Flight Level 430 in the vicinity of the Covia Intersection on Airway J58, the Jacksonville, Florida, Air Route Traffic Control Center received an unusual staccato sound transmission over the frequency, followed 18 seconds later by a report from the copilot, "Can't get it up...it's in a spin..." About 33 seconds after the first staccato sounds, radio and radar contact with N125NE was lost about 104 miles west of Sarasota, Florida. Floating debris were located by a search aircraft and later recovered; the flightcrew was not found. There were no known witnesses to the crash.

Flight / Schedule

West Palm Beach - New Orleans

Aircraft

Learjet 25

Registration

N125NE

MSN

25-271

Year of Manufacture

1979

Operator

Northeast Jet

Date

May 19, 1980 at 12:05 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Positioning

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Crash Location

Gulf of Mexico All World

Region

World • World

Crash Cause

Weather

Narrative Report

On May 19, 1980 at 12:05 PM, West Palm Beach - New Orleans experienced a crash involving Learjet 25, operated by Northeast Jet, with the event recorded near Gulf of Mexico All World.

The flight was categorized as positioning and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

2 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. The aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, from West Palm Beach, Florida. Only the pilot and copilot were on board the aircraft. About 2 1/2 minutes after the aircraft was reported at Flight Level 430 in the vicinity of the Covia Intersection on Airway J58, the Jacksonville, Florida, Air Route Traffic Control Center received an unusual staccato sound transmission over the frequency, followed 18 seconds later by a report from the copilot, "Can't get it up...it's in a spin..." About 33 seconds after the first staccato sounds, radio and radar contact with N125NE was lost about 104 miles west of Sarasota, Florida. Floating debris were located by a search aircraft and later recovered; the flightcrew was not found. There were no known witnesses to the crash.

Aircraft reference details include registration N125NE, MSN 25-271, year of manufacture 1979.

Fatalities

Total

2

Crew

2

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

The aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, from West Palm Beach, Florida. Only the pilot and copilot were on board the aircraft. About 2 1/2 minutes after the aircraft was reported at Flight Level 430 in the vicinity of the Covia Intersection on Airway J58, the Jacksonville, Florida, Air Route Traffic Control Center received an unusual staccato sound transmission over the frequency, followed 18 seconds later by a report from the copilot, "Can't get it up...it's in a spin..." About 33 seconds after the first staccato sounds, radio and radar contact with N125NE was lost about 104 miles west of Sarasota, Florida. Floating debris were located by a search aircraft and later recovered; the flightcrew was not found. There were no known witnesses to the crash.

Cause: Weather

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

2

Passengers On Board

0

Estimated Survivors

0

Fatality Rate

100.0%

Known people on board: 2

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

West Palm Beach - New Orleans

Operator

Northeast Jet

Flight Type

Positioning

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Region / Country

World • World

Aircraft Details

Aircraft

Learjet 25

Registration

N125NE

MSN

25-271

Year of Manufacture

1979