A Learjet 60 business jet carrying nine people crashed into a roadway in Palm Beach County on Sunday afternoon, erupting into a massive fireball and leaving a crater in the pavement. All nine people aboard were killed, authorities said.
The crash occurred shortly before 12:50 p.m. near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The aircraft had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities in a post on X, describing the incident as a “horrific tragedy”. “Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost,” Duffy added.
The crash was the second-deadliest aviation accident in the United States this year, according to National Transportation Safety Board records, following a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people.
Air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net revealed the final minutes aboard the jet, with the pilot reporting ice and turbulence before declaring an emergency.
The pilot initially reported “light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence” to Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. The aircraft was operating in an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Celsius, while turbulence was reportedly causing it to bounce by up to 700 feet.
Moments later, after reporting precipitation and requesting to climb, the pilot declared an emergency and reported a rapid descent. “We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.
“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute … We’re going to crash into the ground.”
Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed that the jet descended approximately 27,000 feet in about one minute before its signal was lost. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the aircraft’s final moments, saying: “It looked like a missile going down.”
Video footage from CNN affiliate WPBF showed the road buckled at the impact site, where the aircraft created a crater.
Who Was Adam Robinson? The Tech Entrepreneur Killed in Florida Learjet Crash
Texas Tech Entrepreneur, Wife and Two Toddlers Among Nine Killed in Florida Learjet Crash
Who Was Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras? The 20-Year-Old Pilot Killed in Florida Jet Crash
Investigators Reveal New Details About Fatal Learjet Crash in Florida
About 600 people required shelter because of damage on the ground, according to Joel Flores, the Palm Beach County commissioner for District 3, who was the first county official to arrive at the scene.
Residents were being relocated to two county shelters as investigations continued. There were no immediate reports of fatalities among people on the ground.
The crash site was approximately four miles south of the airport in West Palm Beach, which was renamed for President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Trump had been in West Palm Beach earlier on Sunday but departed aboard Air Force One slightly more than an hour before the crash.
Scattered storms were reported in the area when the incident occurred, with the aircraft having passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began descending. However, authorities had not established whether weather conditions contributed to the crash.
Federal Aviation Administration records showed that the aircraft was registered to a limited liability company in Delaware and had been listed as available for charter online.
Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, confirmed that the aircraft was a private jet bearing registration number N722BD. “This is definitely a tragedy,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board launched investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash. All northbound and southbound lanes of Military Trail remained closed until further notice as authorities secured the scene and conducted investigations.
