Learjet Falls 27,000 Feet and Crashes in Palm Beach County Neighborhood, Killing All Nine Aboard

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet died on Sunday, November 1, when the aircraft plunged into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, and exploded near a major thoroughfare. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it lost altitude rapidly.

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. The agency scheduled a media briefing in West Palm Beach for Monday. No cause for the crash has been determined yet. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the event as a horrific tragedy in a post on X. He stated that the FAA is sending a team to support the NTSB's efforts and asked the public to pray for the families of the victims.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's officials located the crash site near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, in the city of Greenacres. 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. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters the crash looked like a missile coming down. He noted that the impact left a large crater on the side of the road. At the time of his news conference, no one on the ground had been reported killed or injured.

Air traffic control recordings show the jet was flying east at approximately 35,000 feet when the pilots reported encountering turbulence, icing, and precipitation. The pilot requested a climb of 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center that the plane was experiencing light, clear ice that was manageable and moderate turbulence. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. Turbulence was bouncing the aircraft by as much as 700 feet, according to the audio captured by LiveATC.net.

The situation deteriorated quickly after the precipitation report. The pilot radioed that the plane was descending 8,000 feet, then declared a mayday and stated they were descending 10,000 feet per minute. The pilot later reported an overspeed condition with a descent rate of 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot said, We're going to crash into the ground. CBS News reported the pilot also said, We're out of time. The descent rate increased to as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits. The plane banked sharply to the right before striking the ground at a steep angle.

The FAA data indicates the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before impact. 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 a few minutes before beginning its descent. The flight was in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Whether the weather played a part 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.

Witnesses in nearby cars captured video of the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the roadway. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the site. Video from WPBF showed the road buckled where the jet hit it. Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the crash, told NBC 6 that debris hit his house and everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle said he felt the aircraft pass over his home and that it shook the whole house. Andrew Mannino told CNN he heard and felt the boom and that the power immediately went out.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes on 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 was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He stated that county officials had about 600 people to make sure had shelter that night. The Red Cross was standing by, and Palm Tran buses were ready to carry 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. The road remained open only to emergency vehicles. 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 stay closed for an extended time because of the crater. Officials said the timeline for reopening also depends on the federal investigation.

The jet is identified by the registration N722BD. FAA registry data lists it as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter flights. Officials have not said who operated the flight on Sunday. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the jet was a private aircraft and could not say who was on the flight. He called the event definitely a tragedy. The crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data cited by CNN.

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 stated that the descent was not controlled and that it was clear the pilots had lost control of the plane. Schiavo said the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane and that 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.

The NTSB issued a safety alert on in-flight icing in January 2024. The alert warned that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult and can prevent the airplane from maintaining level flight. Learjet, the brand that Bill Lear's Lear 23 made famous with wealthy travelers in the 1960s, was most recently built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. Bombardier stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service. The crash is the second deadliest in the United States this year, after a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people.