Palm Beach County Learjet Crash: Nine Killed in Sudden Plunge

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet died Sunday, November 1, 2026, when the aircraft nosedived into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida. The jet struck the ground near a busy road and exploded, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time. The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, with a destination of North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The FAA stated that nine individuals were on board, though it labeled the figure as preliminary.

Duffy described the incident as a "horrific tragedy" in a post on X. He announced that the FAA would send a team to the scene to support the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation. The NTSB launched a go-team on Sunday, with investigators expected to arrive on Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing is scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined yet.

Officials have not released the names of the nine victims or specified the number of passengers versus crew members. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, identified the jet as a private aircraft. He said he could not say who was on the flight, calling the event "definitely a tragedy."

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office located the crash site near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. The crash occurred in Greenacres, a city of roughly 45,000 residents located about 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The 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 was in West Palm Beach earlier on Sunday and left the airport on Air Force One a little more than an hour before the crash.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the event as a "cataclysmic plane crash." He noted that the jet looked like a missile descending and left a large crater beside the road. DeSantis stated that there were no reports of ground casualties at the time of his press conference. He praised local first responders for their rapid response and noted that the debris field stretched over a long distance.

The timeline of the flight began with the jet flying east at approximately 35,000 feet. Air traffic control recordings show 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 that they had light, clear ice that was manageable and moderate turbulence. The pilot reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that was bouncing the jet by up to 700 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the request to climb. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday." The descent rate accelerated to 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot stated, "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits. The aircraft banked sharply to the right before impacting the ground at a steep angle.

The FAA data indicates the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data signal cut off. CNN reported that scattered storms were in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before the descent. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, in that region. Heavy rain fell across the area Sunday, with a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. The NTSB had issued a safety alert on in-flight icing in January 2024, noting that ice can make managing flightpath and airspeed difficult.

Video recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet plunging from the sky, striking near the roadway, and exploding. Flames surrounded chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the site, and the road buckled where the jet hit. Nearby resident Anthony Blackmon, who said he was about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle said the aircraft shook his house as it passed overhead. Andrew Mannino reported hearing and feeling a boom, with the power going out immediately. A woman working nearby stated the electricity had been out for about two hours.

About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the mobile home park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. No official has alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3 and was the first county official on scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He noted that the Red Cross was standing by and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. Only emergency vehicles could access the closed section. The county advised 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 because of the crater, and officials said the timeline also depends on the federal investigation.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by registration N722BD. The FAA registry lists the Learjet 60 as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not stated who operated the Sunday flight. The crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. 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, following a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12. Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer that built the most recent Learjets, stopped making new models in 2021 but still supports planes in service.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that dashcam video would be important to investigators. She noted that the descent was not controlled, indicating the pilots had lost control of the plane. The steep dive could have torn parts off the aircraft, and a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is unknown whether the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules only require multi-engine jets to carry one when flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights.