Learjet Plunges 27,000 Feet in About a Minute, Killing Nine in Palm Beach County Crash

A Learjet 60 business jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before it crashed on Sunday, November 1, 2026, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft was bound for the Bahamas from Austin, Texas, when it nose-dived into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, and exploded near a busy thoroughfare. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine were killed and, in a post on X, called the crash a "horrific tragedy." The Federal Aviation Administration stated that the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time and that its information is preliminary.

The jet came down near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. Greenacres is a city of about 45,000 people roughly 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The crash site lay approximately four miles south of the local airport, which had been renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier in the year. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters the crash left a large crater on the side of the road. He described the sight as resembling a missile going down and noted that no one on the ground had been reported killed or injured at the time of his briefing.

Air traffic control recordings captured the rapid deterioration of the flight's status. The pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation and requested to climb 2,000 feet. Minutes later, the pilot radioed the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center, stating the aircraft was experiencing light, clear ice that was manageable and moderate turbulence. The pilot reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and noted that turbulence was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet. The situation shifted abruptly after the request for a climb. The pilot declared a mayday, reporting a descent rate of 10,000 feet per minute that quickly accelerated to 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot stated the jet was in an overspeed condition and later declared that they were going to crash into the ground.

Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange indicated the aircraft dropped 27,000 feet in about a minute before the signal was lost. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team, with investigators expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing was scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause has been determined as of Sunday night. Officials had not yet released the names of the nine individuals killed or specified how many were crew members and how many were passengers. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the jet was a private aircraft and said he could not say who was on the flight.

Witnesses described the impact in vivid terms. Anthony Blackmon, a nearby resident, said he was about 500 feet from the crash site. He reported that debris hit his house, everything caught fire, and the road was ablaze. Roger Forcelle stated that the aircraft shook his house as it passed overhead before crashing less than half a mile from his home. Andrew Mannino told CNN that he heard and felt a boom, and the power immediately went out. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. Another observer compared the aftermath to a meteor strike. A woman working nearby reported that the electricity had remained out for approximately two hours.

County officials said the crash scene, which blocks the entrance to a nearby mobile home community, was being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators worked. Approximately 600 residents were required to leave their homes Sunday night. County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represented District 3 and was the first county official at the scene, stated that residents were being directed 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. No official has alleged that a crime took place.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. The road was open only to emergency vehicles. County officials 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 commissioner warned that the road could remain closed for an extended period because of the crater, and officials said the timeline also depends on the federal investigation.

The jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilots reported weather issues. The FAA registry identified the aircraft by registration N722BD. It was listed as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet was listed online as available for charter flights, though officials had not specified who operated the Sunday flight. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry a cockpit voice recorder only when they are flown for hire. It was unknown if this specific jet carried the device.

Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before the descent began. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, for the region. Whether the weather played a role in the crash had 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. 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 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, said dashcam video would be important to investigators. She noted that the descent was not controlled and that the pilots had lost control of the plane. She suggested the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane and that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. The 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.

Learjet, the brand made famous 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. The jet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," and then said they were in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute. The jet banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle.

The crash site was about four miles south of the airport. Governor DeSantis praised Palm Beach County first responders for their quick response. He said the debris field stretched a long distance. The pilot reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The jet was a private aircraft, an Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesperson told the Associated Press. The NTSB is leading the investigation. The FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the NTSB's investigation, Duffy said. CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The descent rate went from 10,000 feet per minute to 20,000 and then as high as 30,000 feet per minute, the AP reported. The jet was offered for charter flights. The crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data cited by CNN.