Palm Beach County Jet Crash: Nine Dead After Learjet Dives Into Neighborhood

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in Greenacres, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, killing all nine people on board. The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash near Military Trail. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths in a post on X, describing the event as a horrific tragedy. The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. 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, and the NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No official cause for the crash has been determined yet.

Air traffic control recordings captured the pilot’s final communications with the Miami Center. Minutes before the crash, the pilot said, "We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence." The pilots reported precipitation and asked to climb 2,000 feet. Shortly after, the situation deteriorated rapidly. The pilot radioed that the jet was descending at 10,000 feet per minute and declared a mayday. The descent rate increased to 20,000 feet per minute, and the pilot stated the aircraft was in an overspeed condition. In the final moments, the pilot said, "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time."

The aircraft banked sharply to the right and hit the ground at a steep angle. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a loss of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the signal was lost. The jet came down near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, leaving a crater near the roadway. Flames flickered around the crater and thick black smoke covered the site. The crater was only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the crash as a cataclysmic event. He told reporters that the aircraft looked like a missile coming down and left a big crater on the side of the road. DeSantis stated there were no reports of ground casualties at the time of his address, though he acknowledged the debris field stretched a long distance. He praised local first responders for their rapid response to the incident.

Residents near the crash site described the moments before and after the impact. Anthony Blackmon, who told NBC 6 he was about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and that everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle felt the aircraft pass overhead, causing his house to shake, and estimated the crash occurred less than half a mile from his home. Andrew Mannino reported hearing a loud boom, experiencing a power outage, and seeing a large black cloud rise into the air. One witness compared the aftermath to a meteor striking the ground.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes on Sunday night, county officials said. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. No official has alleged that a crime took place. Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He noted that the Red Cross was on standby and that Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

The county closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. Only emergency vehicles were permitted on the road. Drivers were advised 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.

Whether the weather played a part has not been determined. Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before its descent. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning for thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, for the region. The National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert warning that in-flight icing can make managing an airplane’s flightpath more difficult and can prevent level flight.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that the descent was not controlled. She said it was clear that, whatever happened, the pilots had lost control of the plane. She suggested that the steep dive could have torn parts off the aircraft and that the flight recorder may have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not yet known if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, which FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry only when they are flown for hire.

The aircraft, registration number N722BD, is listed in FAA records as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet was available for charter flights online, though officials have not identified the specific operator of the Sunday flight. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the aircraft was private and could not say who was on the flight. He called the crash a definite tragedy.

This is the deadliest crash 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 indicate 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. The Learjet brand was made famous by wealthy travelers in the 1960s and was last manufactured by Bombardier, which stopped producing new models in 2021 but continues to support existing aircraft.