John Malone

Experts now say the pilots of Sunday’s Learjet crash in Florida flew through a storm instead of around it, then faced bad options once ice built up. This was a recipe for disaster that could’ve easily been avoided. It makes me wonder if there need to be regulations making it illegal to fly through bad weather unless it’s an emergency. Aviation expert Justin Crabbe said the crew had clearance to deviate around the weather but chose to press through toward the Bahamas. He pointed to “get-there-itis”—the pressure to reach the destination on time—as a likely factor. Once inside the storm they reported ice and turbulence, then tried to climb. That climb with ice already on the wings may have triggered the stall that sent the plane into a rapid descent. Absent an emergency, flying through convective storms with icing conditions is a high-risk choice. It endangers everyone on the aircraft and people on the ground. Going around the storm and arriving later would have been the safer call. The expert analysis makes that clear even while the formal investigation continues.