Nine Die As Learjet Falls 27,000 Feet To Palm Beach County Road

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, killing all nine people on board. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine were killed and called the crash a "horrific tragedy" in a post on X. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the impact occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The jet descended from an altitude of 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in roughly one minute before striking the ground. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange recorded a drop of 27,000 feet in that final minute. The descent rate went from 10,000 feet per minute to 20,000 and then as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits, according to the Associated Press. The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle, according to the Associated Press.

The crash site is located near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. This community has a population of approximately 45,000 and sits about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The crash site is about four miles south of the airport in West Palm Beach, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. The jet hit near a busy roadway, and video from WPBF showed the road buckled where it struck.

Radio communications captured by LiveATC.net show the pilots reported light clear ice and moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center minutes before the crash. The pilot cited an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The turbulence was strong enough to bounce the aircraft by as much as 700 feet. The pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and asked to climb 2,000 feet. Shortly after, the pilot radioed a mayday call, stating the jet was descending 10,000 feet per minute and then 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot radioed, "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute." The pilot then said, "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the crash as cataclysmic. He told reporters that the jet looked like a missile coming down and left a large crater on the side of the road. DeSantis said there were no initial reports of people on the ground being killed or injured. He praised the Palm Beach County first responders for their rapid response. The debris field stretched a long distance from the point of impact, according to the governor.

Resident Anthony Blackmon was about 500 feet from the crash site. He told NBC 6 that debris hit his house and that the road was on fire. Blackmon said he had always seen such events on the news and never thought one would happen so close. Roger Forcelle, another resident, said the aircraft passed over his house and shook the structure. He estimated the crash occurred less than half a mile from his home. Andrew Mannino told CNN that he heard and felt the boom and that the power immediately went out. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. One witness described the aftermath as looking like a meteor hit the ground.

About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community were forced to leave their homes on Sunday night. County officials stated that the crash scene blocks the entrance to the 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 at the scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. Flores noted that the Red Cross was standing by and that 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 or Alameda Drive until further notice. The road remained open only to emergency vehicles. The county directed drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane or Alameda Drive for east-west travel. For north-south travel, officials recommended Haverhill Road and Kirk Road. A county commissioner warned that parts of the road could remain closed for an extended period due to the crater. The timeline for reopening depends in part 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. The NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause for the crash has been determined. Duffy said the FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the NTSB's investigation. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the jet was a private aircraft. Officials had not released the names of the nine people killed or said how many were passengers and how many were crew. Reynolds told the Associated Press, "This is definitely a tragedy."

Whether the weather played a part has not been determined. Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before the descent. The flight was in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday. 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. She noted that the descent was not controlled, indicating the pilots 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.

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. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not said who operated Sunday's flight. The crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data cited by CNN. In 2008, four people were killed 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. A skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June killed 12 people. Learjet, the brand made famous by Bill Lear's Lear 23 with wealthy travelers 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. Video recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet plunging from the sky, striking near the roadway and exploding. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles.