27,000 feet in one minute: Nine killed in Learjet crash in Palm Beach County

A Learjet 60 business jet lost 27,000 feet in approximately one minute before crashing into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft, which had departed Austin, Texas, and was bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, struck the ground near Military Trail at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, November 1, 2026.

The speed of the descent defined the incident. The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash. Air traffic control recordings show the pilot reporting an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that caused the jet to bounce by up to 700 feet. The pilot declared a mayday, stating the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute and later 20,000 feet per minute. The AP reported the descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute.

Three key facts emerged from the immediate aftermath and official statements. First, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the death toll and described the event as a horrific tragedy in a post on X. Second, the crash site is located in Greenacres, a city of roughly 45,000 residents situated about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. Third, the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with a go-team launching Sunday and a media briefing scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach.

The FAA stated that the jet was carrying nine individuals, a number it characterized as preliminary. Officials have not yet released the names of the deceased or specified the ratio of passengers to crew. 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. The FAA registry lists the jet, registered as N722BD, as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The aircraft is listed online as available for charter, though officials have not confirmed who operated the Sunday flight.

The impact occurred near a busy roadway, leaving a crater on the side of the road. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the crash as cataclysmic, saying it looked like a missile going down. He said the debris field stretched a long distance and that no one on the ground had been reported killed or injured at the time of his news conference. DeSantis praised the rapid response of Palm Beach County first responders.

Witnesses captured the descent on video, showing the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the pavement. Anthony Blackmon, a nearby resident who was about 500 feet from the crash, told NBC 6 that debris hit his house and the road caught fire. He said he had always seen such events on the news but never expected one to happen so close. Roger Forcelle, another nearby resident, described feeling the aircraft pass overhead and shaking his house. He estimated the crash occurred less than half a mile from his home. Andrew Mannino told CNN that he heard and felt a boom, and the power in his area went out immediately. A woman working nearby reported that the electricity had remained out for about two hours.

The crash forced the evacuation of approximately 600 people from a nearby mobile home community. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, county officials said. No official has alleged that a crime occurred. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who represents District 3 and was the first county official at the scene, stated that residents were being sent to two county shelters. He said the Red Cross was standing by, and county officials said Palm Tran buses were ready to carry 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 commissioner warned that parts of the road might remain closed for an extended period due to the crater, with the timeline dependent on the federal investigation.

Whether weather played a part in the crash has not been determined. The jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They requested a climb of 2,000 feet. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, for the area. CNN reported the jet passed through a stronger storm cell shortly before the descent began. Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon.

The NTSB has not determined a cause for the crash. Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, noted that the descent was not controlled, indicating the crew had lost control of the plane. She said the steep dive could have torn parts off the aircraft and that a flight recorder might have been destroyed in the explosion. 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, and records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

This is the deadliest crash involving a Learjet 60, according to data from the Flight Safety Foundation. The previous deadliest incident with this model occurred in 2008 when four people died in a crash in Columbia, South Carolina. NTSB records show 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 people. The Learjet brand, made famous in the 1960s, was most recently built by Bombardier, which stopped producing new models in 2021 but continues to support aircraft in service.

The crash site remains a focal point for investigators and emergency crews. The FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the NTSB's investigation.