Learjet strikes Greenacres road, killing all nine aboard

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard. The FAA said the aircraft fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash. It struck a roadway in the city of Greenacres and exploded at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern time.

The plane was traveling from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a horrific tragedy. He stated that the Federal Aviation Administration is dispatching a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB is leading the investigation and launched a go-team on Sunday. Investigators were scheduled to arrive on Sunday and the following morning, with a media briefing planned for Monday in West Palm Beach.

No cause for the crash has been determined yet. Officials have not released the names of the nine victims or specified the number of passengers and crew members. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, identified the jet as a private aircraft. He said he could not say who was on the flight. He characterized the event as a definite tragedy.

The crash site is located near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Greenacres has a population of approximately 45,000 and sits seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The site is four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. CNN reported that President 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 told reporters that the jet looked like a missile as it descended. DeSantis noted that the impact created a large crater on the side of the road. He reported no known casualties on the ground at the time of his news conference. He praised first responders for their rapid action and noted that debris was scattered over a wide area.

Witnesses captured video of the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the pavement. Flames burned around chunks of asphalt in the crater, which was feet from nearby homes. Thick black smoke rose from the site, and the road surface buckled where the aircraft hit. Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet away, said debris struck his house. He stated that everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle felt the aircraft pass over his home, which shook violently. Andrew Mannino heard a loud boom and saw a large black cloud rise. He said the power immediately went out and was still out.

Approximately 600 residents in a nearby mobile home community were required to evacuate Sunday night. County officials treated the scene as a crime scene while federal investigators worked the area. The crash blocked the entrance to the mobile home park. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being moved to two county shelters. The Red Cross was on standby, and Palm Tran buses were prepared to transport residents once law enforcement cleared the way. No official alleged that a crime had occurred.

County officials closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive. The road remained open only to emergency vehicles. Drivers were directed to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive for east-west travel. They were told to use Haverhill Road and Kirk Road for north-south travel. A county commissioner warned that the road could remain closed for an extended period because of the crater, and officials said the timeline also depends on the federal investigation.

Air traffic control recordings show the pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation while flying east at 35,000 feet. They requested a climb of 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 minus 47 degrees Celsius. The turbulence was bouncing the jet by up to 700 feet. The pilot later radioed that the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute and declared a mayday.

The descent rate accelerated to 20,000 feet per minute as the jet entered an overspeed condition. The pilot stated that the aircraft was going to crash into the ground. CBS News reported the pilot also said the crew was out of time. The descent rate reached 30,000 feet per minute before impact. The jet banked sharply to the right and hit the ground at a steep angle. Flight tracking data showed the aircraft dropped 27,000 feet in about a minute before the signal was lost.

Scattered storms were present in the area when the jet flew. The aircraft passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began to descend. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET warning for the region. Heavy rain fell across the area on Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect. The NTSB had issued a safety alert on in-flight icing in January 2024, noting that ice can make managing flightpath and airspeed difficult.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, said the descent was not controlled. She indicated that the crew had lost control of the plane. She suggested that the steep dive could have torn parts off the aircraft and destroyed the flight recorder. 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. The jet, registered as N722BD, is listed online as available for charter.

The Learjet 60 is owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The crash is the deadliest involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. The previous worst incident occurred in 2008 in Columbia, South Carolina, where four people died. This is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year. A skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June killed 12 people. Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer, stopped building new Learjets in 2021 but continues to support existing aircraft.