Sunday Jet Disaster in Palm Beach County: Nine Dead, 600 Evacuated

A private business jet nose-dived into a neighborhood and exploded near a busy road in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft descended rapidly from 35,000 feet, striking the ground near Military Trail and creating a large crater beside the road.

The crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The Learjet 60 had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the event as a horrific tragedy in a post on the social media platform X.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. The agency 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. No cause for the crash has been determined as of the latest updates.

The jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation to air traffic control. They requested a climb of 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported light, clear ice and moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.

The pilot also cited an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that caused the jet to bounce by as much as 700 feet. According to air traffic control recordings, the situation deteriorated quickly after the precipitation report.

The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," and stated the jet was in an overspeed condition descending at 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot then declared, "We're going to crash into the ground."

CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The descent rate peaked at 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits. The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle. The FAA stated the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute before impact.

Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data signal cut off. The jet crashed near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. The site is roughly four miles south of the airport in West Palm Beach.

CNN reported that President Donald Trump was in West Palm Beach earlier Sunday and 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 crash as cataclysmic. He said the aircraft looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.

DeSantis said there were no reports at the time of his news conference of anyone on the ground being killed or injured. He noted that the debris field stretched a long distance and praised local first responders. County officials said the site was being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators worked. No official has alleged that a crime took place.

Residents nearby described the moment of 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 said the aircraft shook his house as it passed overhead. Andrew Mannino reported that the power went out immediately and he saw a large black cloud rise into the air.

Video from nearby cars captured the jet striking near the roadway and exploding. Flames surrounded chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. WPBF footage showed the road buckled where the jet hit. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night because the crash scene blocked the park's entrance. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said residents were being sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross was standing by, and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. The road remained open only to emergency vehicles. 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.

The FAA registry lists the jet, registration N722BD, as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The aircraft is listed online as available for charter. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry a cockpit voice recorder only when flown for hire. It is not known whether this jet carried such a device.

The crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. The NTSB records show it 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. Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer, stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.