Texas-to-Bahamas Learjet Kills Nine in Florida Road Crash

A private Learjet 60 lost all nine occupants on Sunday, November 1, 2026, after the aircraft fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute and struck a roadway in Palm Beach County, Florida. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities in a social media post, describing the incident as a "horrific tragedy." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated the jet crashed at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time in Greenacres, a city of about 45,000 people roughly 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach.

The aircraft was en route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data reported by the AP indicate the jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet before the sudden descent. The FAA labeled its initial data as preliminary. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team, with investigators expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. The NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday.

Officials have not yet released the names of the nine individuals killed or distinguished between passengers and crew. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the aircraft was a private jet and could not say who was on the flight. "This is definitely a tragedy," Reynolds told the Associated Press. The FAA registry lists the jet, registration N722BD, as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The aircraft is listed online for charter, though officials have not confirmed who operated the Sunday flight.

The crash site is situated near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Palm Beach County Sheriff's officials placed the impact zone in Greenacres, approximately four miles south of President Donald J. Trump International Airport. CNN reported that President Trump left the airport on Air Force One a little more than an hour before the crash. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the event to reporters as a "cataclysmic plane crash." He noted the aircraft left a large crater on the roadside and appeared like a missile descending. DeSantis said there were no reports at the time of the news conference of anyone on the ground being killed or injured, and praised Palm Beach County first responders for their quick response.

Witnesses captured the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the road. Video from WPBF showed the road buckled where the jet hit it. Anthony Blackmon, a nearby resident who said he was about 500 feet from the crash, stated that debris hit his house and that the road caught fire. "I've always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today," Blackmon told NBC 6. Roger Forcelle said the aircraft passed overhead, shaking his home before crashing probably less than half a mile from where he lives. Andrew Mannino told CNN he heard and felt the boom, that the power immediately went out, and that he smelled smoke. Another observer compared the aftermath to a meteor impact.

Air traffic control recordings detail the final minutes of the flight. The pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation while at 35,000 feet. The pilot requested a climb of 2,000 feet. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet. "We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence," the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. The situation deteriorated rapidly after the crew requested the altitude change.

The pilot radioed a mayday call, reporting a descent rate of 10,000 feet per minute. This accelerated to 20,000 feet per minute as the jet entered an overspeed condition. "We're going to crash into the ground," the pilot said. CBS News reported the pilot also stated, "We're out of time." The descent rate peaked at 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the aircraft beyond its design limits. The jet banked sharply right before impacting the ground at a steep angle. The FAA said the aircraft fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash. ADS-B Exchange data showed a drop of 27,000 feet before the signal was lost.

Weather conditions included scattered storms, with the jet passing through a stronger storm cell minutes before the dive. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning for thunderstorms threatening aircraft, for the area. Whether the weather contributed to the crash has not been determined. The National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon due to heavy rain. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert on in-flight icing, noting that ice can make managing flightpath and airspeed more difficult and prevent level flight.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, said dashcam video will be important to investigators. "That is not a controlled descent," Schiavo said. "So at that point, it's clear whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane." She noted the steep dive could have torn parts from the aircraft and that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is unclear if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, which FAA rules require for multi-engine jets only when they are flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night, county officials said. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the park and is being treated as a crime scene during the federal investigation. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3, said residents were being sent to two county shelters and the Red Cross was standing by. County officials said Palm Tran buses were ready to carry residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation. No official has alleged a crime occurred.

Military Trail remained closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice, accessible 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.

This is the deadliest crash involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. The previous worst incident for this model occurred in 2008 in Columbia, South Carolina, where four people died when a Learjet 60 crashed on takeoff. 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. Learjet, the brand that Bill Lear's Lear 23 made famous with wealthy travelers in the 1960s, was last built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, which ceased production in 2021 but continues to support the aircraft in service.