Palm Beach Crash: Learjet Falls 27,000 Feet, Killing All Nine

Nine people died when a Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, November 1. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths of all individuals on board in a post on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration said the jet crashed at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time. The aircraft had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

Duffy described the event as a horrific tragedy and noted that the FAA was dispatching personnel to support the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. The NTSB announced it was sending a go-team to the scene, with investigators expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing was scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash had been identified as of Sunday evening.

Officials had not released the names of the victims or specified the breakdown between passengers and crew. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Austin airport, characterized the aircraft as a private jet and said he could not say who was on the flight. He referred to the incident as a definite tragedy.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office located the crash site near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. The city has a population of approximately 45,000 and is situated roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The site is about four miles from the West Palm Beach airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site and spoke to reporters about the scene. He described the impact as cataclysmic, saying the plane looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road. DeSantis said there were no initial reports of injuries or deaths among people on the ground. He praised the rapid response of local first responders and noted that debris was scattered over a wide area.

Witnesses in nearby vehicles recorded video of the jet falling from the sky and exploding near the roadway. The footage showed flames flickering around chunks of pavement in a crater located feet from homes and inches from passing cars. Thick black smoke billowed from the site, and one video showed the road surface buckled where the aircraft struck.

Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and that everything nearby was on fire. Roger Forcelle described feeling the aircraft pass over his home, shaking the structure before it crashed less than half a mile away. Andrew Mannino reported hearing and feeling the boom, followed by an immediate power outage that was still ongoing. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. Another witness said the aftermath resembled a meteor impact.

About 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night, county officials said. The crash site blocked the entrance to the park and was being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators worked. No official alleged that a crime took place. Commissioner Joel Flores, who was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being moved to two county shelters with the Red Cross standing by. 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 to all non-emergency traffic. 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 the road closure could be extended due to the crater and the ongoing federal investigation.

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data showed the jet flying east at approximately 35,000 feet before the incident. The pilots reported encountering turbulence, icing, and precipitation, and requested to climb 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot informed the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center that the ice was light and manageable and the turbulence was moderate. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence causing vertical deviations of up to 700 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the climb request. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," and then reported an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot then said they were going to crash into the ground, and CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time." Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 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 one minute just before the crash.

The aircraft banked sharply to the right and hit the ground at a steep angle. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits. Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began to descend, CNN reported. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft in the region. Heavy rain fell across the area Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, noted that dashcam video would be important for investigators. She stated that the descent was not controlled, indicating the pilots had lost control of the plane. The steep dive could have torn parts from the aircraft, and the flight recorder may have been destroyed in the explosion. It remains unknown if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules require them only for multi-engine jets flown for hire. Registry records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identified the aircraft by registration number N722BD. The jet is listed as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. Officials have not confirmed who operated the specific flight on Sunday. This crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. The previous deadliest incident involving this model occurred in 2008 when four people were killed in a takeoff crash in Columbia, South Carolina. This event is the second deadliest aviation disaster in the United States this year, following a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people.

Learjet, the brand famous for the Lear 23 in the 1960s, was most recently manufactured by Bombardier. The Canadian company stopped producing new Learjets in 2021 but continues to support the planes currently in service. The NTSB is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash.