A business jet flying from Texas to the Bahamas crashed into the ground in Florida, killing all nine people aboard, after flying straight into a severe thunderstorm.

• The jet was descending toward the Bahamas when it ran into a large storm system over central Florida, with storm clouds reaching 40,000 feet.
• Pilots reported worsening turbulence and ice forming on the wings at freezing temperatures, then asked air traffic control for a smoother route.
• After one engine change in altitude, the plane suddenly went into a steep dive, dropping as fast as 20,000 feet per minute while banking sharply, and the crew declared a mayday before losing contact.
• Experts say icing combined with a high-speed stall at high altitude is extremely difficult or impossible to recover from, since pilots rarely train for that scenario and the aircraft risked breaking apart if pushed too hard.
• The jet was over 20 years old, a model no longer in production, raising questions about whether outdated onboard weather radar contributed to the disaster.

Outlook: Investigators will need time to determine whether icing, equipment limits, or maintenance issues were the main cause, but early evidence points to the crew flying into unavoidable severe weather.