Learjet 60 Plunges From 35,000 Feet Into Palm Beach County Street, Killing Nine

The pilot of a Learjet 60 radioed air traffic controllers that the aircraft was descending at 20,000 feet per minute and would crash into the ground moments before the jet struck a neighborhood near a busy road in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1. All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The crash occurred near Military Trail in Greenacres, a community of approximately 45,000 residents located roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it lost altitude. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash time as approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time.

According to air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data, the jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. The pilot requested a climb of 2,000 feet and reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. Turbulence was bouncing the aircraft by as much as 700 feet. After the pilots reported precipitation and asked to climb, the situation changed fast. The pilot called a mayday, reporting a descent rate that quickly accelerated from 10,000 to 20,000 feet per minute. The aircraft banked sharply to the right and hit the ground at a steep angle.

The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash. Data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data cut off. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits, the AP reported. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team. No cause for the crash has been determined.

The crash site was described by officials as a crater left on the side of the road. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who visited the site, said the plane looked like a missile going down. He noted that debris was scattered over a long distance and that there were no immediate reports of ground casualties. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirmed the location near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.

Witnesses in the area described the impact. Anthony Blackmon, who said he was about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house and the road caught fire. Roger Forcelle reported feeling the aircraft pass over his home, shaking the structure before it crashed less than half a mile away. Andrew Mannino said he heard a boom and experienced an immediate power outage. Another person who saw the aftermath said it looked like a meteor hit the ground. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours.

The crash blocked the entrance to a nearby mobile home community, forcing approximately 600 residents to evacuate Sunday night. County officials said the area is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. No official has alleged that 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 sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross was on standby, and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Military Trail was closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive, allowing only 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. Officials warned the closure could last an extended period due to the crater and the ongoing federal investigation.

Weather conditions in the region included scattered storms and a convective SIGMET, which warns of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. The jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before the descent. Heavy rain fell across the area, and the National Weather Service maintained a flood watch through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert noting that in-flight icing can make managing the flightpath and airspeed difficult.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that the descent was not controlled. She noted that the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane and that a flight recorder might have been destroyed. It is unknown if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when they are flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

The aircraft, registered as N722BD, is a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, described the jet as a private aircraft and could not identify the individuals on board. Officials have not released the names of the nine victims or specified the number of passengers versus crew members.

This is the deadliest crash involving a Learjet 60 in history, 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. This crash is the second deadliest in the United States this year, following a skydiving plane accident in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people. Bombardier, the last manufacturer of the Learjet, stopped building new models in 2021 but continues to support the aircraft in service.

The NTSB scheduled a media briefing in West Palm Beach for Monday. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. The FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the NTSB's investigation.