Learjet crashes in Palm Beach County, killing nine

A private jet fell from the sky on Sunday afternoon and killed everyone on board.

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 died when the aircraft crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths and described the incident as a horrific tragedy in a post on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration stated the jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, and was scheduled to land at North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The aircraft hit the ground near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. The crash site is in Greenacres, a community of roughly 45,000 residents located about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The impact created a large crater on the side of the road, and thick black smoke covered the site. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters it looked like a missile going down. He noted that there were no immediate reports of ground casualties, though the debris field stretched a significant distance.

Air traffic control recordings capture the final moments of the flight. The pilots reported encountering light, clear ice and moderate turbulence while flying at 35,000 feet. They requested to climb 2,000 feet. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. Minutes later, the pilot declared a mayday, stating the jet was descending at 10,000 feet per minute. The pilot then reported an overspeed condition with a descent rate of 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot then said the aircraft was going to crash into the ground. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about one minute before the signal was lost.

The descent rate eventually reached 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the aircraft beyond its design limits. The plane banked sharply to the right before striking the ground at a steep angle. The FAA recorded a fall from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in the final minute. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing is scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined yet.

Witnesses in nearby vehicles recorded video of the jet plunging and exploding. Flames surrounded chunks of pavement lining the crater, which sat feet from homes and inches from passing cars. Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the site, said debris hit his house and the road was on fire. Roger Forcelle described feeling the aircraft pass overhead, which shook his entire home. Andrew Mannino reported that the power went out immediately after the boom and was still out. One observer compared the aftermath to a meteor impact.

County officials said about 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night because the crash scene blocks the entrance to the park. The area is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, although no official has alleged a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being moved to two county shelters. The Red Cross was standing by, and Palm Tran buses were ready to carry residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Military Trail remains closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane or Alameda Drive, with access limited to emergency vehicles. The county directed 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 road closures could persist for an extended period due to the crater and the needs of the federal investigation.

Whether the weather played a part has not been determined. Scattered storms were in the area, and the aircraft passed through a stronger storm cell minutes before the descent. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Heavy rain fell across the region Sunday, and the National Weather Service maintained a flood watch through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert noting that in-flight icing can make managing flightpath and airspeed difficult and prevent level flight.

Mary Schiavo, an aviation analyst and former Transportation Department inspector general, noted that dashcam video would be vital for investigators. She stated that the steep dive was not a controlled descent and indicated the pilots had lost control of the plane. The steep angle may have torn parts off the aircraft, and a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when flown for hire. Records show the jet, registration N722BD, was offered for charter flights.

The aircraft is a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The brand, made famous by Bill Lear in the 1960s, was last built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, which stopped producing new Learjets in 2021 but still supports those in service. This is the deadliest crash 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. This incident 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.

Officials have not released the names of the nine victims or the breakdown between crew and passengers. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the jet was a private aircraft and could not say who was on the flight. He called the event a definite tragedy. No cause has been determined.