Learjet Plunges From 35,000 Feet and Kills Nine in Palm Beach County Crash

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet died when the aircraft plunged from 35,000 feet into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, 2026. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities and described the event as a horrific tragedy in a post on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash occurred at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern time.

The jet departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. It crashed near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in the city of Greenacres. Greenacres has a population of roughly 45,000 and is located about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The crash site is approximately four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year.

Air traffic control recordings show the pilots encountered adverse conditions minutes before the crash. The pilot reported light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence while flying at about 35,000 feet. The pilot noted an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet. The pilots asked to climb 2,000 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the crew reported precipitation. The pilot radioed a mayday call, stating the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute. The descent rate went to 20,000 feet per minute and then as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits, the AP reported. The pilot declared that the jet was in an overspeed condition and stated, We're going to crash into the ground. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about one minute before the signal was lost.

Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site and described the scene to reporters. He said the jet looked like a missile going down and left a large crater on the side of the road. DeSantis noted that there were no reports of injuries or deaths on the ground at the time of his news conference. He praised local first responders for their rapid action. The debris field extended a significant distance from the impact point, and thick black smoke covered the area.

Video recorded by drivers in nearby vehicles captured the jet striking the ground near the roadway and exploding. Flames burned around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was located feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. The road surface buckled where the jet impacted. A woman working nearby reported that the electricity had been out for about two hours following the crash.

Local residents described the moment of impact. Anthony Blackmon, who was about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and the road caught fire. Roger Forcelle stated that the aircraft shook his house as it passed overhead and crashed less than half a mile from his home. Andrew Mannino reported hearing and feeling a boom, followed by a power outage and a large black cloud of smoke. Another witness said the aftermath looked like a meteor hit the ground.

About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community were forced to leave their homes on Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, county officials said. No official has alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said residents were being moved to two county shelters with Red Cross support. Palm Tran buses were on standby to transport residents once law enforcement cleared the evacuation.

Military Trail was closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane or Alameda Drive until further notice. The road was open only to emergency vehicles. County officials directed drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane or 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 stay closed for an extended time because of the crater, and officials said the timeline also depends on the federal investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning, and the NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause for the crash has been determined yet. The FAA registry lists the jet, registration N722BD, as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The aircraft is listed online as available for charter flights.

Scattered storms were present in the area when the jet crashed. The aircraft passed through a stronger storm cell minutes before its 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 had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. Whether the weather played a role in the crash has not been determined.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, said dashcam video will be important to investigators. She said the descent was not controlled and that it was clear the pilots 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 unknown if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, though FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one if flown for hire.

This crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. In 2008, four people were killed when a Learjet 60 bound for Los Angeles 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 people. Bombardier, which most recently built Learjets, stopped making new ones in 2021 but continues to support aircraft in service.