Learjet Plunges From 35,250 Feet, Killing All Nine on Board

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, killing all nine people aboard, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The Federal Aviation Administration said the jet crashed at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The aircraft had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, with plans to land at North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The FAA noted that the preliminary data indicated nine individuals were on the plane.

The crash site is located near Military Trail, specifically between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. The city has a population of approximately 45,000 and sits about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The specific location of the impact was roughly four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. CNN reported that President Trump was in West Palm Beach earlier Sunday and left the airport on Air Force One a little more than an hour before the crash.

Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the crash scene and described the event to reporters. He stated that the aircraft 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 ground casualties or injuries at the time of his news conference. He praised the response of Palm Beach County first responders and noted that the debris field extended over a long distance. He also called the event a major tragedy that residents would recognize as such.

Witnesses provided accounts of the crash. Anthony Blackmon, a resident living about 500 feet from the site, reported that debris struck his house and that everything, including the road, was on fire. Roger Forcelle said he felt the aircraft pass directly over his home, shaking the structure before it crashed probably less than half a mile from where he lives. Andrew Mannino said that he heard and felt a boom, followed by an immediate power outage that was still ongoing. Another witness described the aftermath as resembling a meteor strike, while a woman working nearby confirmed the electricity had been out for roughly two hours.

Video recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet descending from the sky and striking the ground near the roadway. The impact caused an explosion, sending flames flickering around chunks of pavement that lined the crater. The debris field was close to homes and passing vehicles. Footage from WPBF showed the road surface buckling where the jet made contact. Thick black smoke covered the site.

Air traffic control recordings reveal the rapid deterioration of the flight. The pilots initially reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation while flying east at approximately 35,000 feet. They requested a climb of 2,000 feet. The pilot reported light, clear ice that was manageable and moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The pilot reported turbulence that was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet, according to the recording captured by LiveATC.net.

The situation changed quickly after the initial reports. The pilot radioed mayday and said the jet was descending 10,000 feet per minute. 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 pilot stated the aircraft was in an overspeed condition. CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The jet banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle. The FAA stated the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the signal cut off.

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 minutes before the descent began. 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 warning that in-flight icing 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 will be important to investigators. She noted that the descent was not controlled, indicating 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 remains unclear whether the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules only require one for multi-engine jets when they are flown for hire. Records show the jet was available for charter.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. The agency launched a go-team on Sunday and expected investigators to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing was scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the jet was a private aircraft and that the airport could not identify the people on the flight. He called the event a definite tragedy.

About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes on Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, county officials said. No official has alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He noted that the Red Cross was standing by and that Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement permitted the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. The road is open only to emergency vehicles. Drivers were directed 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 due to the crater. Officials said the timeline for reopening depends on the progress of the federal investigation.

The crashed aircraft is registered as 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. Officials have not identified the operator of Sunday's flight. According to Flight Safety Foundation data, this is the deadliest crash ever involving a Learjet 60. 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. The Learjet brand was most recently built by Bombardier, which stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but continues to support the aircraft in service.