Nine killed as Learjet plunges into Palm Beach County

In Palm Beach County, Florida, all nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet were killed on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when the aircraft fell from the sky and struck a busy roadway. The crash site is located in Greenacres, a city of roughly 45,000 people situated seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The impact left a large crater near Military Trail, disrupting local traffic and power.

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 reported that the jet crashed 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 FAA said nine people were on board and called its information preliminary.

Air traffic control recordings detail the final moments of the flight. While cruising at 35,000 feet, the pilots reported encountering turbulence, icing, and precipitation. The pilot requested a climb of 2,000 feet and noted that the ice was light and clear. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. Minutes later, the situation deteriorated rapidly as the jet began a steep descent.

The pilot radioed that the aircraft was descending 10,000 feet per minute. The descent rate quickly accelerated to 20,000 feet per minute, and the pilot declared an overspeed condition. The pilot stated they were going to crash into the ground, and CBS News reported the pilot also said they were out of time. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data cut off, CNN reported.

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, with a media briefing planned for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined yet. The FAA is sending a support team to assist the NTSB.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site and told reporters the jet looked like a missile going down. He noted that the impact left a big crater on the side of the road. DeSantis said there were no reports of ground fatalities or injuries at the time of his news conference. He praised the Palm Beach County first responders for their quick response to the scene.

Video captured by nearby drivers shows the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the roadway. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was located only feet from homes. Thick black smoke covered the site, and the road appeared buckled where the jet struck. One witness described the aftermath as looking like a meteor had hit the ground.

Anthony Blackmon, a resident located about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle reported feeling the aircraft pass over his home and shaking the structure. Andrew Mannino heard the boom and felt the power go out immediately. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours following the incident.

County officials said about 600 people 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. County Commissioner Joel Flores stated that residents were being sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross is standing by, and Palm Tran buses are ready to carry residents once law enforcement allows the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane or Alameda Drive until further notice. Only emergency vehicles are permitted on the closed segment. The county advised drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane or Alameda Drive for east-west travel. Haverhill Road and Kirk Road are recommended 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 jet was flying through an area with a convective SIGMET, an FAA warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Scattered storms were present in the region, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before its descent. Heavy rain fell across the area on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. The NTSB issued a safety alert in January 2024 warning that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult.

Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that the steep dive indicates the pilots had lost control of the plane. She noted that a flight recorder may have been destroyed in the explosion. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry a cockpit voice recorder only when flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights, though officials have not said who operated Sunday's flight.

The jet, registered as N722BD, is listed in FAA records as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The aircraft is a Learjet 60. Learjets were most recently built by Bombardier, which stopped making new ones in 2021. This crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. NTSB records show it 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. Officials have not yet released the names of the nine victims.