Learjet Crashes Into Palm Beach County Neighborhood, Killing All Nine

A private Learjet 60 business jet nose-dived into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, killing all nine people on board.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths in a post on X, describing the event as a "horrific tragedy." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The jet struck the ground near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres, a city of about 45,000 people located roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The impact site is approximately four miles south of the West Palm Beach airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. CNN reported that President Trump departed from that airport on Air Force One more than an hour before the crash.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site and told reporters the scene resembled a missile impact. "Obviously, this was a cataclysmic plane crash," DeSantis said. "It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road." He noted that no ground casualties had been reported at the time of his news conference and praised local first responders for their rapid response. The debris field stretched a considerable distance from the point of impact.

Video captured by nearby drivers showed the jet plunging from the sky, striking near the roadway, and exploding. Flames burned around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which sat feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke rose from the site, and WPBF video showed the road surface buckled where the jet landed. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours.

Residents described the moment of impact with vivid detail. Anthony Blackmon, who was about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and the road caught 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 reported that the aircraft passed directly over his home, shaking the structure. "Everybody came out of their houses because you could feel it shaking," Forcelle said. Andrew Mannino, who spoke to CNN, heard a loud boom and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. Another witness described the aftermath as looking like a meteor had struck the ground.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. The NTSB scheduled a media briefing for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined as of Sunday night. Officials have not released the names of the nine individuals killed or specified the number of passengers versus crew members. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the aircraft was private and could not say who was on the flight.

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data reveal the jet’s final moments. The aircraft was flying east at approximately 35,000 feet when the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They requested a climb of 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center: "We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence." The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that bounced the jet by up to 700 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the precipitation report. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." The pilot also radioed, "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute." The pilot then said, "We're going to crash into the ground," and reportedly added, "We're out of time," according to CBS News. The jet banked sharply to the right and hit the ground at a steep angle.

The FAA stated the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute prior to the crash. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange recorded a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before data transmission ended. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the aircraft beyond its design limits. Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before the descent began. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, for the region.

Heavy rain fell across the area on Sunday, and the National Weather Service maintained a flood watch through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert regarding in-flight icing, warning that ice can make managing flightpath and airspeed more difficult and prevent level flight. Whether the weather played a part has not been determined.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, analyzed the event. "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 the steep dive could have torn parts off the aircraft and that a flight recorder might have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules only require one for multi-engine jets when flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

The aircraft is registered as N722BD and is identified as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not specified who operated the flight on Sunday. According to Flight Safety Foundation data, this is the deadliest crash involving a Learjet 60. In 2008, four people were killed when a Learjet 60 bound for Los Angeles crashed on takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina. NTSB records indicate this is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year, following a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice, restricting access to 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 ongoing federal investigation.

About 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were required to evacuate their homes on Sunday night because the crash scene blocked the park's entrance and is being treated as a crime scene. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represented District 3 and was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. "So we have about 600 people that we have to make sure that they have shelter tonight," Flores said. The Red Cross stood by, and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement permitted the evacuation. No official alleged a crime had taken place.