Nine Dead After Learjet Plunges in Florida

Nine people died when a Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities in a post on X, describing the incident as a horrific tragedy. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the impact occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time. The aircraft was traveling from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The jet struck the ground near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, in the city of Greenacres. This location is roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach and about four miles from the President Donald J. Trump International Airport. Video captured by nearby drivers showed the aircraft descending sharply, hitting the roadway, and exploding. Flames surrounded a crater in the pavement, while thick black smoke obscured the site. Footage from WPBF revealed the road had buckled where the jet made contact.

Air traffic control recordings indicate the pilots reported light clear ice, moderate turbulence, and precipitation while flying at 35,000 feet. The pilot requested a 2,000-foot climb. Minutes later, the situation deteriorated rapidly. The pilot radioed that they were descending 8,000, then 10,000 feet per minute, and declared a mayday. The pilot reported an overspeed condition while descending 20,000 feet per minute and stated, "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time."

Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed the aircraft dropped 27,000 feet in about one minute before the signal was lost. The FAA stated the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in that same minute. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the plane beyond its design limits. The aircraft banked sharply to the right before impacting the ground at a steep angle. CNN reported the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began to descend. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET for the area, warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft.

County officials said the scene was being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators worked. About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community were required to leave their homes Sunday night because the crash site blocked the park's entrance. County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represented District 3 and was the first county official at the scene, stated that residents were being moved to two county shelters. He said the Red Cross was standing by, and county officials said Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation. No official alleged a crime had occurred.

Statewide, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site. He told reporters the crash looked like a missile going down and left a large crater beside the road. DeSantis said there were no reports of people on the ground being killed or injured at the time of his news conference. He praised the quick response of local first responders and noted the debris field stretched a long distance. CNN reported that President Donald Trump was in West Palm Beach earlier Sunday and departed on Air Force One more than an hour before the crash.

Witnesses described the moment of impact. Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and the road was on fire. "I've always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today," Blackmon told NBC 6. Roger Forcelle said he felt the aircraft pass over his home and shook the structure. "It went right over us and crashed probably less than half a mile from where I live," Forcelle said. Andrew Mannino told CNN he heard and felt the boom and saw a large black cloud rise. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. The agency launched a go-team and expected investigators to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing was scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash had been determined. Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former U.S. Transportation Department inspector general, said dashcam video would be important to investigators. "That is not a controlled descent," Schiavo said. "So at that point, it's clear whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane." She noted that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion.

The aircraft was a Learjet 60 with registration N722BD. FAA registry data listed the owner as LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet was listed online as available for charter flights, though officials had not identified who operated the specific Sunday flight. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry a cockpit voice recorder only when flown for hire. It is not known if this jet had one. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, called the aircraft private and said he could not identify the individuals aboard. "This is definitely a tragedy," Reynolds told the Associated Press.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice, allowing only emergency vehicles. The county directed drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive for east-west travel, and Haverhill Road and Kirk Road for north-south travel. A county commissioner warned that parts of the road could remain closed for an extended period due to the crater and the federal investigation timeline. Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon.

According to Flight Safety Foundation data, this is the deadliest crash ever involving a Learjet 60. In 2008, four people died when a Learjet 60 crashed on takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina. NTSB records show this is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year. A skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, killed 12 people in June. The Learjet brand was made famous by Bill Lear's Lear 23 in the 1960s. Canadian manufacturer Bombardier most recently built the aircraft, stopping new production in 2021 but continuing to support planes in service.

The NTSB issued a safety alert on in-flight icing in January 2024. The alert warned that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult and can prevent the airplane from maintaining level flight. Whether the weather played a part has not been determined. The FAA stated its information on the nine people aboard was preliminary. Officials have not released the names of the deceased or specified how many were passengers versus crew.