Learjet 60 Kills Nine in Palm Beach County After 27,000 Foot Plunge

Nine people died Sunday when a Learjet 60 crashed into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The aircraft was heading from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it plunged from high altitude.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths in a post on X, describing the event as a horrific tragedy.

The Federal Aviation Administration stated the crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time.

The jet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport.

The FAA reported nine individuals were on board, with the figure described as preliminary.

No names were released immediately, and officials did not specify the split between passengers and crew.

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom, identified the aircraft as a private jet.

He noted that the specific individuals on the flight remained unknown at the time of his statement.

The crash site is located near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres.

Greenacres is a city of roughly 45,000 residents situated roughly 7 miles southwest of West Palm Beach.

The impact point was approximately four miles south of the local airport.

The airport was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year.

CNN reported President Trump departed the airport on Air Force One more than an hour before the crash.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the event as a cataclysmic plane crash.

He told reporters the aircraft looked like a missile going down and left a large crater.

DeSantis said there were no reports of ground casualties at the time of his news conference.

He praised local first responders and noted the debris field stretched a long distance.

Witnesses in nearby vehicles recorded the jet striking near the roadway and exploding.

Video showed flames around pavement chunks and thick black smoke rising from the site WPBF footage indicated the road surface buckled at the impact zone The crater was feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles Anthony Blackmon, a nearby resident who said he was about 500 feet from the crash, stated that debris hit his house and everything was on fire Roger Forcelle reported feeling the aircraft pass over his home, causing the structure to shake He said the crash happened less than half a mile from his residence Andrew Mannino told CNN he heard and felt the boom, followed by a power outage He said the power was still out and he smelled smoke. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours A witness described the aftermath as resembling a meteor hitting the ground Approximately 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night The crash scene blocked the park entrance and was treated as a crime scene No official has alleged that a crime took place Commissioner Joel Flores, representing District 3, was the first county official on site He confirmed residents were being moved to two county shelters The Red Cross stood by, and Palm Tran buses were prepared for transport Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive Emergency vehicles had access, while drivers were rerouted via alternative roads A commissioner warned the closure could last an extended period due to the crater The timeline depends on the federal investigation Air traffic control recordings show the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation The pilots asked to climb 2,000 feet The pilot reported light, clear ice and moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center The outside air temperature was recorded at minus 47 degrees Celsius The turbulence caused the jet to bounce by as much as 700 feet The pilot radioed that the aircraft was descending 8,000 The pilot then declared a mayday and reported a descent rate of 10,000 feet per minute The pilot stated they were in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute The pilot said they were going to crash into the ground CBS News reported the pilot also said they were out of time The descent rate reached 30,000 feet per minute, exceeding design limits The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute Flight tracking data showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before data ended Scattered storms were present in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET warning of thunderstorms Heavy rain fell across the region, and a flood watch was in effect through Monday afternoon The NTSB issued a safety alert in January 2024 regarding in-flight icing The alert warned that ice can make managing flightpath and airspeed more difficult Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst, stated dashcam video would be important to investigators She noted the descent was not controlled and indicated the pilots had lost control The steep dive could have torn parts off the plane, she said A flight recorder might have been destroyed in the explosion It is unknown if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when flown for hire Records show the jet was offered for charter flights Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by registration N722BD The FAA registry lists the Learjet 60 as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter Officials have not identified who operated the flight on Sunday This crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data In 2008, four people died when a Learjet 60 crashed on takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina NTSB records show this is the second deadliest crash in the U.S. this year A skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, killed 12 people in June Learjet, the brand made famous by Bill Lear in the 1960s, was most recently built by Bombardier Bombardier stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports planes in service