Expert Pilot Explains What Likely Caused SHOCKING Plane Crash in Florida

What this episode is about

A young pilot’s qualification and the role of paired flight crews are examined, highlighting age requirements, training hurdles, and the balance between eagerness and experience in operating complex aircraft. The discussion emphasizes how flight hours, regulatory limits, and teamwork contribute to safety and the factors that may lead to a crash.

Key takeaways

• Youth in the cockpit is a risk-reward equation: ambition plus mentorship beats age-based gatekeeping.
• Weather beats bravado: storm radar literacy and depth-perception are non-negotiable at any altitude.
• The Mayday moment reveals process: declaring emergency is not panic, it's precedence for priority handling.
• Experience isn’t a fuse—it's a thermostat: horsepower of youth with seasoned guidance tempers risk.
• Altitude deviations and icing speak a language: telemetry, not bravado, should drive the decision.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Megyn Kelly (Guest) · 8 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Learjet, NTSB, Mayday, FAA
2. 3:00 – 6:00: NTSB, Mayday, FAA
3. 6:00 – 9:00: NTSB, Supercooled large droplets, Learjet
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Mayday
5. 12:00 – 13:10: Birch Gold

Notable quotes from "Expert Pilot Explains What Likely Caused SHOCKING Plane Crash in Florida"

• Lawfully drink. she could she was considered too young to have a glass of wine and yet we're going to put her behind the controls of a Learjet with the lives of nine people…

  about Learjet · at 0:16

• That's the best way to learn and the best way to go about building your hours. So again, we don't know what happened to this. The NTSB is going to look at the airplane. They're…

  about NTSB · at 1:42

• Mean, I think we all understand Mayday to be a cry of distress. But what is it officially? What does it officially mean when a pilot says that to air traffic control?

  about Mayday · at 2:48

• Them into that? The pilots should have seen that on their radar scope and avoided it. The FAA rule is 20 nautical miles away from any known thunderstorm.

  about FAA · at 5:28

• There's a thing called super large super cooled large droplets, SLDs. And SLDs at certain altitudes like 35,000 ft if you fly into a storm will adhere to the leading edge of…

  about Supercooled large droplets · at 8:15

• Realized inflation is still a challenge and it's time to diversify into gold and silver. Text MK to the number 989898 today and speak with a birch gold precious metals…

  about Birch Gold · at 12:32

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Companies & orgs

• NTSB — Company · Referenced agency · 4 mentions · first at 1:49
  Primary investigative authority expected to determine cause of the Learjet crash; the episode refers to the NTSB's upcoming investigation focus.
• FAA — Company · Regulatory reference · 2 mentions · first at 1:22
  Referenced as the regulator that sets rules such as thunderstorm separation and pilot certification/age limits relevant to the discussion.
• United — Company · Referenced airline example · 1 mention · first at 1:13
  Used as an example of major airlines (with American and Delta also mentioned) when discussing career progression and typical pilot career timelines.
  She's going to go out and do it. And it takes years and years to get to a place where you get to be like a first officer at American or Delta or United. It took me 10 years to get to that place. I had to start someplace. I.
• Delta — Company · Referenced airline example · 1 mention · first at 1:13
  Mentioned alongside United and American as examples of carriers where pilots aspire to work; used to contextualize pilot experience and career path.
  She's going to go out and do it. And it takes years and years to get to a place where you get to be like a first officer at American or Delta or United. It took me 10 years to get to that place. I had to start someplace. I.

Products & tech

• Learjet — Product · Case study / accident aircraft · 2 mentions · first at 0:22
  The airplane type involved in the crash; discussion centers on how a Learjet would behave in icing, turbulence, and thunderstorm conditions.

Concepts & topics

• Supercooled large droplets — Concept · Core technical explanation · 1 mention · first at 8:15
  Explains a specific icing mechanism (SLDs) that can accrete on wings at high altitude and lead to loss of lift; speaker highlights SLDs as a likely factor.
• Mayday — Concept · Core topic / terminology · 3 mentions · first at 2:44
  Mayday is central to the episode's discussion of the in-flight emergency — the pilot declared Mayday during the rapid descent.

Sponsors

• Birch Gold — Sponsor · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 12:11
  Episode sponsor: provided a paid advertisement segment promoting precious metals and a Veterans Day offer with a CTA.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Putting the gender thing to the side, the the question is this is young. This is a very young person to be I mean I know you say some are up there, but it to me it seems like we don't let you rent a car until you're 25 years old. We This person couldn't lawfully drink. You know, she could she was considered too young to have a glass of wine and yet we're going to put her behind the controls of a Learjet with the lives of nine people dependent on her. Tell me why I'm wrong. That seems too young. Well, she's not the only pilot in the cockpit. So, there's another pilot with her. Uh, presumably a more experienced pilot. Uh, everybody's got to start someplace. That's the key to all of this. If we want if we're going to if we're going to force pilots to retire at age 65 and we've got a pilot shortage at some point, you got to get into the workforce. So, what is too young? I think a lot of times uh a young

0:51 pilot like that, they're eager, they're in the books, they study really hard. They've got to overcome a lot of obstacles in terms of people not thinking they can do the job. Listening to that little interview with her, she sounds like a pilot. She's just confident. She knows what she wants. She's going to go out and do it. And it takes it takes years and years to get to a place where you get to be like uh a first officer at American or Delta or United. It it took me 10 years to get to that place. I had to start someplace. I didn't start much older than her. So, uh, you know, the FAA's got restrictions on all this sort of thing. You can fly before you turn 16. You can't get a license until you're 16. I think you can't get instrument ratings until you're 17. But a lot of those younger pilots are into the books. They know the numbers uh better than anybody else. And then coupled with an experienced pilot

1:41 that is got the stick and rudder skills, that's the best way to learn and the best way to go about building your hours. So again, you know, we don't know what happened to this. The NTSB is going to look at the at the airplane. They're going to look at the pilots, and they're going to look at the environment. I think the place they need to focus in on first is the environment. It looked like they flew into a thunderstorm, and the weather conditions, I think, are going to have a big factor with why that airplane dropped out of the sky.

2:08 Let's talk about that because you you heard her describe and the NTSB reiterated. First they say light clear ice with moderate turbulence. Then um they talk about an altitude deviation of 700 ft. It's - 53° F outside and very soon thereafter say we're picking up precipitation. They ask for permission to climb to 37,000 ft and the air traffic controller says that's okay. And no sooner does he give the okay for that than they talk about their rapid descent. And she's calling Mayday Mayday. By the way, [clears throat] I mean, I think we all understand Mayday to be a cry of distress. But what what is it officially? What does it officially mean when a pilot says that to air traffic control?

2:55 Yeah, Mayday means you're declaring an emergency. And at that point, the a lot of things go into motion. Air traffic control starts to clear everybody out. You get whatever you want if you declare a Mayday. If you want a lower altitude, if you want to turn left or right, that's completely up to the pilot's discretion. You don't ask have to ask permission for that. You're telling air traffic control that you're in some sort of distress, and basically you're piloting your airplane with no other inputs. Um, so she declares a mayday, but it's already well into this rapid descent. It's what happened to the aircraft prior to that that led up to the rapid descent. That's where the NTSB is going to focus and I think that's where the the weather had the biggest impact.

3:36 So describe if they're taking on ice and there's precipitation and there there's an altitude deviation of 700 ft. Does that mean what that's what's being caused by the turbulence to your aircraft?

3:49 Yeah. So she checks in and says a couple of things. She she gives a lot of great information. You don't normally get this from a a pilot. Uh she says we're we're managing the icing right now. So they they were already experiencing some icing, which I'm telling you at 35,000 ft is extremely rare. You're usually above it all at that altitude. It's very cold. They ask her what the temperature is outside and she says -47. That's - 53° F. That's typically how cold it is at 35,000 ft. So it's not more cold or less cold than normal. That's just very cold. Then she says later on that they're they're experiencing moderate turbulence and that the aircraft is losing or gaining plus or minus 700 ft.

4:32 That's extraordinary. I would call that severe turbulence, not moderate turbulence, but every pilot has a little different interpretation of what that is. That might be where some of the experience level comes in. If you can't hold altitude, that's severe turbulence to me. Severe turbulence now is a different beast altogether. your aircraft is semi out of control. She also keys up the mic after that and says now we're experiencing precipitation. There's I've very rare that there's precipitation at 35,000 ft. What the question I've got is did they know they were flying right into what appears to be and I have to say appears to be a thunderstorm cuz on the radar you can see that big yellow and then red center.

5:17 That's a typically a thunderstorm. Uh, and was their radar not working? Could they not see that? Did air traffic control turn them into that? Did they ask for a turn prior to that that took them into that? The pilots should have seen that on their radar scope and avoided it. The FAA rule is 20 nautical miles away from any known thunderstorm. So, you have to stay 20 nautical miles away. So, you don't try to fly over it and you certainly don't fly through it. So, that's where it's a combination of

5:46 right there. You can see it's right over it. It's a combination of things. It's it's the pilot

5:51 decision. Was was it led by air traffic control? What was working or not working on their aircraft? Did they see that? And did they know? Uh and did they just try to fly over it? All of those are going to be questions that I would have if I was running the investigation. I try to find out in the weeks ahead. You can't outrun a thunderstorm. Sometimes they build so quickly you can't get over top of them.

6:15 That's the thing. So this thunderstorm seems to have gone high up, forgive the, you know, pedestrian language, but it seems to have gone very high up in the sky. And so it seems like they may have been having trouble getting on top of it because she tried. They wanted to go up to 37,000 ft. They got the permission and that's where the trouble started. So is there a problem with a Learjet going? Somebody was talking about updraft, which I didn't understand, but they said that could have been a factor here. So the Leard shed originally was at 41,000 ft. They descended back down to 35,000 ft. My presumption is because it was a smoother ride at 35. When they get down to 35, they get back into moderate turbulence. That's where we first get her reports. Now, what goes on inside a thunderstorm is there's there's updrafts and downdrafts. Think of cylinders in an engine going up and down like this. And

7:08 what happens is when you get like, for instance, hail comes out of the bottom of a thunderstorm. What's happened is all the moisture inside of it gets shot up in an updraft. It goes up so high it freezes. It gets heavy enough and then it falls down and it comes down the downdraft. Comes down the downdraft, gets picked up by an updraft, goes back up again and uh the hail ball will begin to grow to the point where it the the storm can't sustain it anymore and it falls all the way down to the ground. Now, there was no indication yet that there was hail inside this thunderstorm, but that's the convective activity going on inside. It's it's extreme friction.

7:44 That's why you need to avoid these things by about 20 miles. If you try to fly over it, they're building up so quickly that sometimes you can't get on top of it. So, I don't know that they were trying to go over top of it. I think at at 35,000 ft the ride was so bad, they were just looking for any other altitude to get to to get to a smoother ride. What what I think here's my if I was at the NTSB investigating this, I would be looking at the icing component of it because they already reported icing and then they reported preip and you got the cold temperature.

8:15 There's a thing called super uh large super cooled large droplets, SLDs. And SLDs at certain altitudes like 35,000 ft if you fly into a storm will adhere to the leading edge of the wing, but they're so large that they don't they don't freeze immediately. They flow back to the middle part of the wing and then they freeze to the wing. It builds a ridge like a little mountain on top of the wing and it totally disrupts and kills all the lift on the wing. So, not only is your aircraft picking up weight because of the ice, the wings now stop producing lift. And those wings turn into like a vending machine. It's just a big hunk of metal out there. And the aircraft can't sustain flight anymore.

8:58 The aircraft then dips down. That one wing she said was 60° angle of bank down. You saw that in the picture as it came down and hit the ground. At that point, the the aircraft is knife edging out of control and it's virtually impossible to pull it out of that because of the conditions over on the wing at the time that cause the loss of lift and that's what creates this kind of missile effect of an airplane coming straight down as you can see in the picture. So when the when the air when she says it's banking 60° that's that's going forward like ass up you know that's going on the side

9:38 right so you can see that now at this point the nose is completely down just before it impacts the ground but at first the wing one of the wings is going to lose lift first and I think it was the most likely the right wing because she says we're 60° I think she said right wing down but I might I might have just made that up but 60° down and then the nose of the aircraft falls through. So the the aircraft stalls, the wing falls through the the you begin a knife edge, but as you're accelerating down the nose, the aircraft wants to be aerodynamic. So the nose then falls through. They just simply can't pull the aircraft out of that strong G force that's forcing the airplane down.

10:17 Besides the fact that their wings are covered with ice, you know, it's there's not enough time for all that to melt in the basically 60 seconds it took for them to go from 35,000 ft to impacting the ground.

10:30 At what point was it unreoverable? I think somewhere in the middle of her transmission. Uh again, I I think if if it was if it was an icing condition that caused this stall in this knife edge, I think it was unreoverable probably right from the beginning

10:52 because she says, "I'm I'm looking here again." She [clears throat] asked if they can go to 37,000 ft presumably to fly above the turbulent air, but moments later she declared a mayday. Um he said, "What's the outside temperature?" She said - 47° C. We're managing the ice, but it is moderate turbulence. Let me know if you need anything else. I'm just working you into my airspace right now. She says, "Now we're picking up precipitation. We need to climb. Roger. Climb and maintain. We're descending 8,000. Mayday. Mayday. We're descending 10,000 ft per minute. Declaring an emergency.

11:23 Uh we are in an overseas condition. Um I'm not sure if that's the correct transcription. I don't know. Descending 20,000 ft per minute. I mean, at that point, is there any saving an aircraft that has ice on the wings and you're you're going down 20,000 ft per minute?

11:40 Most likely not. Most likely not. Thanks for watching this clip. If you're new here, subscribe. We got a whole lot more goodness where that came from. Would love to hear your feedback. You can email me too, Megan Megnancell.com, or just leave a comment below. But join the community by becoming a subscriber. We really, really value your input and your support. We may not always agree, but we are always going to talk about it and respect. No BS, no agenda, no fear. Good news. Birch Gold has extended the Veterans Day silver offer through November 11th. So act now to get a free 1oz silver coin for every $10,000 purchased. This silver coin features the American flag and the Gadson flag and is a reminder that you saw the writing on the wall and did something about it. You realized we cannot afford the interest payments on our national debt. You realized inflation is still a challenge and it's time to diversify into gold and

12:37 silver. Text MK to the number 989898 today and speak with a birch gold precious metals specialist. They will help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in gold and silver and then you will receive a free 1oz silver commemorative coin for every $10,000 you spend. But this offer ends on November 11th. Diversify into gold and silver and get free silver. Text MK to the number 989898. That's MK to 989898 today.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Expert Pilot Explains What Likely Caused SHOCKING Plane Crash in Florida"?

Megyn Kelly (Guest).

What is "Expert Pilot Explains What Likely Caused SHOCKING Plane Crash in Florida" about?

A young pilot’s qualification and the role of paired flight crews are examined, highlighting age requirements, training hurdles, and the balance between eagerness and experience in operating complex aircraft. The discussion emphasizes how flight hours, regulatory limits, and teamwork contribute to safety and the factors that may lead to a crash.

What is mentioned in this Megyn Kelly episode?

8 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Supercooled large droplets, NTSB, Learjet, Mayday, FAA, United. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Expert Pilot Explains What Likely Caused SHOCKING Plane Crash in Florida"?

The episode runs 13 min; the transcript is about 2,503 words in 23 timestamped sections.

More from Megyn Kelly

• All analyzed episodes
• Books mentioned on Megyn Kelly
• People mentioned on Megyn Kelly
• Sponsors mentioned on Megyn Kelly
• Topics mentioned on Megyn Kelly