Nine Dead After Learjet Crashes in Palm Beach County

A Learjet 60 business jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute, the FAA said, before striking a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1. All nine people on board the aircraft were killed in the crash, which occurred near Military Trail and left a large crater in the pavement. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatality count and described the incident as a horrific tragedy. The Federal Aviation Administration placed the time of impact at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time.

The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas with a destination of North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Austin airport, identified the jet as a private aircraft. He said he could not say who was on the flight. Officials had not released the names of the nine people killed or said how many were passengers and how many were crew. The FAA labeled its information as preliminary.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash. The agency announced the launch of a go-team on Sunday. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing was planned for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash had been determined as of the initial reports.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis went to the scene. He told reporters the plane looked like a missile going down. DeSantis noted a big crater on the side of the road and described the event as a major tragedy. He reported that there were no initial accounts of people on the ground being killed or injured. The governor praised Palm Beach County first responders for their rapid action at the scene.

Video footage captured by nearby drivers showed the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the roadway. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which sat feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the crash site. A video from WPBF showed the road surface buckled where the jet impacted the ground.

Anthony Blackmon, a resident living about 500 feet from the crash, described debris hitting his house. He said everything was on fire and the road was burning. Blackmon noted that he had always seen plane crashes on the news but never expected one to happen so close to his home. Roger Forcelle felt the aircraft pass over his property. He said the impact shook the whole house and the crash was probably less than half a mile from where he lives. Neighbors emerged from their homes due to the shaking sensation.

Andrew Mannino told CNN that he heard and felt a boom before the power went out immediately. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. Another witness described the aftermath as looking like a meteor hit the ground. A woman working nearby reported that the electricity had been out for about two hours.

Approximately 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes on Sunday night. County officials said 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 alleged that a crime had taken place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represented District 3, was the first county official on scene. He said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He said the Red Cross was standing by.

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. County officials told drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive for east-west travel. Haverhill Road and Kirk Road served as detours for north-south traffic. A county commissioner warned that parts of the road could stay closed for an extended period due to the crater. The timeline for reopening also depended on the progress of the federal investigation.

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data showed the jet flying east at about 35,000 feet before the crash. The pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They requested to climb 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center that they had light, clear ice that was manageable. The pilot also reported moderate turbulence and an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The turbulence was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet.

The situation changed rapidly after the pilots reported precipitation and asked to climb. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." The pilot stated they were in an overspeed condition descending at 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot then said they were going to crash into the ground. CBS News reported the pilot also said they were out of time. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute. 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 just before the crash. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data cut off. Scattered storms were in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before the descent began. The flight was in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET 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. The alert warned that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult. It can also 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 stated that the descent was not controlled. She said it was clear that whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane. The steep dive could have torn parts off the plane. 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 a cockpit voice recorder only when they are flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights. The jet was identified by its registration, N722BD. The FAA registry 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 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. Learjet, a brand made famous by wealthy travelers in the 1960s, was most recently built by Bombardier. The manufacturer stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.