This is why we call it the “Pilot In Command”
This happened in the same vicinity where the ill-fated Lear Jet hit the storm cell.
JetBlue pilot en route from Fort Lauderdale to Austin says to ATC:
“So you're gonna make us go through a, uh, severe thunderstorm?”
The captain then commanded the situation and overrode the ATC:
“So we declare an emergency, making a left turn heading 260 for severe weather avoidance.”
Sometimes piloting demands a specific set of traits - decisiveness, independent judgment, and the backbone to reject an instruction when it doesn’t feel right.
Refusing the assigned heading showed exactly that kind of assertive leadership.
Whoever is pilot monitoring must make these tough calls but ultimately, the captain is the final authority and ultimately accountable for every soul on board.
I work in aviation so this morning I got to sit around with a bunch of pilots and discuss this horrible situation and I found it so interesting that none of the pilots thought the gender or race of the pilots were a factor at all but a bunch of fucking idiots on here do.
‼️DEVELOPING: RADAR SHOWS JET FLEW INTO A STORM CORE AT 35,000 FEET
Analysis of Miami NEXRAD radar shows the Learjet 60 (N722BD) entered a thunderstorm core near Wellington at about 12:48 PM ET, just before it crashed in Palm Beach County.
At 35,000 feet, radar echoes around the jet jumped to 34 dBZ, with a 52 dBZ core below it and storm tops near 47,000 feet. Tracking data shows the jet climbed about 450 feet inside the core, then went into a spiraling dive and crashed 76 seconds later.
Minutes earlier, the crew told Miami Center they were in moderate turbulence and “managing the ice” at −53°F, and asked to climb out of the precipitation. Moments later they declared a Mayday, reported an overspeed, and said they were banking 60 degrees.
All 9 people on board did not make it. The NTSB is investigating, and the cause has not been determined.