Palm Beach County Crash: Learjet Plunges 27,000 Feet, Killing Nine Aboard

The nine people aboard a Learjet 60 were killed Sunday when the jet nose-dived into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, after falling from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the jet crashed at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data show the aircraft was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation. The pilots asked to climb 2,000 feet.

After the pilots reported precipitation and asked to climb, the situation changed fast. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center: "We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence." The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet. The pilot declared a mayday, stating the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute. The descent rate quickly accelerated to 20,000 feet per minute before reaching 30,000 feet per minute. The pilot stated, "We are in an overspeed condition," and later said, "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time." Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data cut off, CNN reported.

The aircraft banked sharply to the right and struck the ground at a steep angle near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. The crash site is approximately four miles south of the airport in West Palm Beach, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. The jet exploded near a busy roadway, leaving a big crater on the side of the road. Thick black smoke rose from the site, and flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater. Video recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet plunging from the sky, striking near the roadway and exploding, the AP reported. Video from WPBF showed the road buckled where the jet hit it.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a "horrific tragedy" in a post on X. He noted that the FAA was sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. The NTSB, which is leading the investigation, said Sunday it was launching a go-team and planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause has been determined. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters the crash looked like a missile going down. He stated there were no reports of people on the ground being killed or injured at the time of his news conference. He praised the quick response of Palm Beach County first responders.

Nearby residents described what they saw and felt. Anthony Blackmon said 6 he was about 500 feet from the crash and said debris hit his house and the road caught fire. He noted, "I've always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today." Roger Forcelle said the aircraft passed directly over his home, shaking the structure. He estimated the crash occurred less than half a mile from his residence. Andrew Mannino reported that the power went out immediately after the boom. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise. 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.

About 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community were forced to leave their homes Sunday night. County officials stated that the crash scene blocks the park's entrance and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. No official has alleged a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3 and was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being transported to two county shelters. He stated, "So we have about 600 people that we have to make sure that they have shelter tonight." The Red Cross was on standby, and Palm Tran buses were prepared 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 traffic except 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 county commissioner warned that parts of the road could remain closed for an extended period due to the crater and the ongoing federal investigation.

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, confirmed the jet was a private aircraft. He said the airport could not identify the individuals on the flight. The FAA registry lists the aircraft, registration N722BD, as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter flights. Officials have not yet stated who operated the flight on Sunday.

Scattered storms were present in the region when the jet crashed. 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, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, for the area. Heavy rain fell across the region Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. Whether weather conditions contributed to the crash has not been determined.

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 and can prevent the airplane from maintaining level flight. Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that dashcam video will be important to investigators. She said, "That is not a controlled descent," and added that the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane. She said a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when flown for hire.

The crash is the deadliest 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. NTSB records show this is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year. The first was a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people. Learjet, the brand made famous with wealthy travelers in the 1960s, was most recently built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. Bombardier stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.