Nine Dead After Learjet Falls 26,500 Feet in One Minute Near Palm Beach Road

A private business jet crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, after a rapid descent from 35,250 feet.

The aircraft, a Learjet 60, struck the ground near a busy roadway on Sunday, November 1, 2026, killing all nine people on board, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The Federal Aviation Administration placed the time of the crash at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, with North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas as its intended destination.

The sequence of events began minutes before impact when the pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation. Air traffic control recordings show the pilot noting light, clear ice and moderate turbulence. The outside air temperature was recorded at minus 47 degrees Celsius, and the aircraft was bouncing by as much as 700 feet. After the pilots asked to climb 2,000 feet, the situation changed fast. The pilot radioed a mayday call, stating the jet was descending at 10,000 feet per minute. That rate accelerated to 20,000 feet per minute before the pilot declared, "We're going to crash into the ground." Flight tracking data indicates the jet lost 27,000 feet in roughly one minute before the signal was lost.

The crash site is located near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres, a city of about 45,000 residents. The location is roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach and four miles south of the local airport. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the event as a cataclysmic plane crash. He noted that the jet left a large crater on the side of the road and compared the visual to a missile falling. DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths among people on the ground, though the debris field stretched a considerable distance.

People in nearby cars captured video of the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the roadway. The impact buckled the road surface, and flames surrounded chunks of pavement that formed the crater. The site was covered in thick black smoke. Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and the road was on fire. Roger Forcelle, who said the crash was probably less than half a mile from his home, described feeling the aircraft pass overhead and shake his home. Andrew Mannino reported an immediate power outage and a large black cloud rising into the air. Another witness said the aftermath looked as if a meteor had hit the ground.

Palm Beach County officials ordered the closure of Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. The road is currently open only to emergency vehicles. County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3 and was the first county official at the scene, said that about 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to that community and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, county officials said. No official has alleged that a crime took place. Residents were being sent to two county shelters, with the Red Cross standing by. 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.

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 yet. The jet was flying through an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning for thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Scattered storms were present, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before the descent began. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert warning that in-flight icing can prevent an airplane from maintaining level flight.

Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department and aviation analyst, stated that the steep dive indicates the pilots lost control of the aircraft. She noted that the descent was not controlled and that the explosion could have destroyed a flight recorder. It is not yet known if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder. FAA rules require such devices only for multi-engine jets flown for hire. Records show the Learjet 60, registered as N722BD and owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware, was listed for charter flights.

This is the deadliest crash in the history of the Learjet 60 model, 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. Nationally, 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 people. The manufacturer, Bombardier, stopped building new Learjets in 2021 but continues to support the aircraft in service.