Learjet Kills Nine in Palm Beach Dive

A Learjet 60 business jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute, the FAA said, before nose-diving into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft, which had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, November 1. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people aboard were killed and called the crash a horrific tragedy in a post on X. The Federal Aviation Administration said its information is preliminary. Duffy said the FAA is sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation.

The crash occurred near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, in the city of Greenacres. This location is about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach and four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. Officials have not yet released the names of the victims or specified how many were crew members versus passengers. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, identified the aircraft as a private plane and said he could not say who was on the flight, calling the event definitely a tragedy.

Witnesses described a violent impact that shook nearby structures and left debris scattered across the neighborhood. Anthony Blackmon, who told NBC 6 he was about 500 feet from the crash, said that debris struck his house and that both the road and the surrounding area were engulfed in flames. He said he had always seen such things on the news and never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened. Roger Forcelle said he felt the aircraft pass directly over his house, causing the entire structure to shake, and estimated the crash occurred less than half a mile from his residence. Andrew Mannino, another resident, told CNN he heard and felt the boom, and that the power went out immediately and was still out. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours. He described seeing a large black cloud rise into the air and smelling smoke.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters the crash was cataclysmic. He compared the aircraft’s descent to a missile coming down, noting that it left a large crater on the side of the road. DeSantis stated that there were no reports of people on the ground being killed or injured at the time of his news conference. He praised the quick response of Palm Beach County first responders and said the debris field stretched a long distance. Video footage from nearby cars captured the jet plunging from the sky, striking the ground near the roadway, and exploding. The impact buckled the asphalt, and thick black smoke covered the site.

In the aftermath, County officials said residents of a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes. Approximately 600 residents were required to leave their homes Sunday night because the crash scene blocked the park’s entrance. The area is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, though no official has alleged that a crime took place. 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. He said the Red Cross was standing by, and county officials said Palm Tran buses were ready to carry residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Traffic in the area was disrupted as the county closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive. The road remained open only to emergency vehicles, and drivers were instructed 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 because of the crater, and officials said the timeline also depends on the federal investigation.

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data provide a detailed account of the jet’s final moments. The aircraft was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They requested to climb 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported light, clear ice and moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. The outside air temperature was recorded at minus 47 degrees Celsius. The turbulence was intense enough to bounce the jet by as much as 700 feet. After requesting the climb, the situation deteriorated rapidly.

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 the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The descent rate went as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits, the AP reported. The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle. The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute.

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 it began its final descent. 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. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert regarding in-flight icing, warning that ice can make managing the airplane’s flightpath and airspeed more difficult and can prevent the airplane from maintaining level flight.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that dashcam video would be important for investigators. She noted that the descent was not controlled, indicating that the crew had lost control of the plane. Schiavo suggested 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 not yet 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, and records indicate this jet was available for charter flights.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the aircraft by the registration N722BD. The FAA registry lists the Learjet 60 as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported that the jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not yet identified who operated the Sunday flight. The crash is the deadliest in the history of the Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data cited by CNN. The previous worst incident involving this model occurred in 2008 when four people were killed in a takeoff crash in Columbia, South Carolina.

This incident marks the second deadliest crash in the United States this year. The first was a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people. The NTSB is leading the investigation and launched a go-team Sunday. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning, and the NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause has been determined yet. The Learjet brand, which became famous with wealthy travelers in the 1960s, was most recently built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. Bombardier stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but continues to support the planes still in service.