Nine Die After Learjet Nose-Dives into Palm Beach County Neighborhood

All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 business jet died on Sunday, November 1, 2026, after the aircraft nose-dived into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida. The jet was traveling from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera, Bahamas, when it descended rapidly and struck the ground near Military Trail.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a horrific tragedy in a social media post. He stated that the FAA was dispatching a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation. The NTSB launched a go-team and scheduled a media briefing for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined yet.

The crash site is located in Greenacres, a city of roughly 45,000 residents situated about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The jet impacted the ground near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. This area is approximately 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 on Sunday and left the airport on Air Force One a little more than an hour before the crash.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters the crash looked like a missile descending. He noted that the impact created a large crater on the side of the road. DeSantis said there were no reports, at the time of the news conference, of people on the ground being killed or injured. He praised first responders for their quick reaction and noted that debris was scattered over a long distance.

Air traffic control recordings captured the final minutes of the flight. The pilots reported encountering light ice, turbulence, and precipitation while flying east at about 35,000 feet. They requested to climb 2,000 feet. The pilot noted an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that moved the jet by up to 700 feet. Minutes later, the situation deteriorated as the pilot declared a mayday, reporting a descent rate of 10,000 feet per minute and then 20,000 feet per minute.

The pilot radioed that the aircraft was in an overspeed condition and that it was going to crash into the ground. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed the jet dropped 27,000 feet in about one minute before the signal was lost. The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in that single minute. The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle.

Witnesses in the area described the scene in vivid detail. Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle felt the aircraft pass over his home, causing the house to shake. He estimated the crash occurred less than half a mile from where he lives. Andrew Mannino heard and felt the boom and said the power immediately went out. Another witness compared the aftermath to a meteor hitting the ground.

Video recorded by people in nearby cars showed the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the roadway. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the site, and the road surface buckled where the jet struck. A woman working nearby reported that electricity had been out for about two hours following the impact.

About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community had to evacuate Sunday night. County officials said the crash scene blocked the entrance to the mobile home park and was being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators worked. No official alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross was standing by, and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

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. The county 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 county commissioner warned that parts of the road could stay closed for an extended time because of the crater, and officials said the timeline also depends on the federal investigation.

Weather conditions at the time included scattered storms. The jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began to descend. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, for the area. Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. Whether the weather played a part in the crash has not been determined.

The aircraft was identified by its registration, N722BD. FAA registry data lists the Learjet 60 as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not yet said who operated Sunday's flight. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, confirmed the jet was a private aircraft and could not identify the individuals on board. He called the incident a definite tragedy.

This is the deadliest crash ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. In 2008, four people died when a Learjet 60 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 people. Learjet was most recently built by Bombardier, which stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.