Nine Die as Learjet Plunges in Florida

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet died on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when the aircraft crashed into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida. The plane exploded near a busy roadway in the city of Greenacres, which has a population of approximately 45,000. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities and described the incident as a "horrific tragedy" in a post on X. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The jet had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash. The agency announced on Sunday that it was launching a go-team to the scene. Investigators were expected to arrive on Sunday and Monday morning. The NTSB scheduled a media briefing for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the accident has been determined as of the latest updates.

The crash site is located near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. This area is roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach and about four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. CNN reported that President Donald Trump was in West Palm Beach earlier on Sunday. He departed on Air Force One more than an hour before the jet crashed.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site and spoke to reporters. He described the event as a "cataclysmic plane crash" that looked like a missile hitting the ground. DeSantis noted that the impact left a large crater beside the road. He said there were no reports of fatalities or injuries on the ground at the time of his news conference. The governor praised the quick response of Palm Beach County first responders and stated that debris was scattered over a long distance.

Video footage recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet diving from the sky. The aircraft struck near the roadway and exploded, creating flames around chunks of pavement. Thick black smoke rose from the site. The road surface was buckled where the jet hit. The crater was located only feet from nearby homes and inches from passing vehicles.

Anthony Blackmon, a resident living about 500 feet from the crash, told NBC 6 that debris hit his house. "Everything was on fire. The road was on fire," Blackmon said. He added that he had always seen such events on the news but never expected one to happen so close to his home. Roger Forcelle, another resident, said he felt the aircraft pass over his house. "It shook the whole house. It went right over us and crashed probably less than half a mile from where I live," Forcelle said. Andrew Mannino, who told CNN he heard and felt the boom, reported that power went out immediately and remained out for some time. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise. One witness described the aftermath as looking like a meteor had hit the ground.

About 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were required to leave their homes on Sunday night. County officials stated that the crash scene blocks the entrance to the mobile home park. The area is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, though no official has alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3, 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 was on standby, and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement cleared the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. Only emergency vehicles were permitted on the road. Drivers were directed 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. Officials said the timeline for reopening the road also depends on the federal investigation.

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data provide details on 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. The turbulence was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet, according to the recording captured by LiveATC.net.

The situation changed rapidly after the pilots reported precipitation. The pilot radioed: "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." The pilot then said: "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute." The pilot added: "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported that the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The descent rate increased from 10,000 feet per minute to 20,000, and then to as high as 30,000 feet per minute. The jet banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle. The FAA stated that 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.

Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began its rapid descent. The flight was in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning for thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Whether the weather played a role in the crash has not been determined. Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert on in-flight icing, warning that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, said dashcam video will be important to investigators. "That is not a controlled descent," she said. "So at that point, it's clear whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane." Schiavo noted that the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane. She said a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known whether the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when they are flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by its registration, N722BD. The FAA registry lists the aircraft as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not stated who operated the flight on Sunday. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press that the jet was a private aircraft and that he could not say who was on the flight. "This is definitely a tragedy," Reynolds said. Officials had not released the names of the nine people killed or said how many were passengers and how many were crew.

According to Flight Safety Foundation data cited by CNN, this is the deadliest crash ever involving a Learjet 60. In 2008, four people were killed when a Learjet 60 crashed on takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina. NTSB records show that this incident is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year. It follows a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people. Learjet, a brand made famous by Bill Lear's Lear 23 in the 1960s, was most recently built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. The company stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.