27,000 Feet Gone in a Minute After Ice Report, Jet Crashes in Greenacres

A business jet departed Austin, Texas, bound for the Bahamas, but instead of reaching its destination, it collided with the earth in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, 2026. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine individuals on board the Learjet 60 were killed in the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that the aircraft crashed at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time, marking the end of a flight that began at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was intended for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The crash site is located near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in the city of Greenacres. This area sits roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach and about four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. Duffy said the jet exploded near a busy road. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the jet left a big crater on the side of the road and that the debris field stretched a long distance.

Air traffic control recordings captured the final moments of the flight. The jet was traveling east at approximately 35,000 feet when the pilots reported encountering turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They asked to climb 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot informed the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center that the aircraft was experiencing light, clear ice and moderate turbulence. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The pilot also reported turbulence that was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly following the pilots' report of precipitation. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday." The descent rate accelerated quickly, with the pilot reporting a drop of 10,000 feet per minute. The pilot then stated that the aircraft was in an overspeed condition, descending at 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot declared, "We're going to crash into the ground," and according to CBS News, also said, "We're out of time." Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about one minute before the data cut off, CNN reported.

The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in a single minute prior to impact. The aircraft banked sharply to the right and struck the ground at a steep angle. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits. CNN reported that the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before beginning its rapid descent. The flight was in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft, though whether the weather played a part has not been determined.

Witnesses in nearby vehicles captured video of the jet plunging from the sky. The footage shows the aircraft striking near the roadway and exploding. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was only feet from homes. Thick black smoke covered the site, and the road buckled where the jet made impact. Nearby resident Anthony Blackmon, who was about 500 feet from the crash, told NBC 6 that debris hit his house and everything was on fire. Roger Forcelle said he felt the aircraft pass over his home, shaking the entire structure. Andrew Mannino told CNN that he heard and felt the boom, and the power immediately went out in the area.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the event as a cataclysmic plane crash. He told reporters that the jet 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 praised Palm Beach County first responders for their quick response and noted that the debris field stretched a long distance. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, called the incident a definite tragedy. He noted that the jet was a private aircraft and that the airport could not say who was on the flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and said Sunday it was launching a go-team. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning, and the NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause has been determined yet. Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, stated that dashcam video will be important to investigators. She noted that the steep dive was not a controlled descent and that the pilots had lost control of the plane. She said the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane and that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the mobile home park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. No official has alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who was the first county official at the scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He stated that the Red Cross was standing by and that 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 until further notice. The road is open only to emergency vehicles. The county told 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 county commissioner warned that parts of the road could stay closed for an extended time because of the crater. Officials said the timeline for reopening the road also depends on the federal investigation.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by its registration, N722BD. The FAA registry lists it as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet is listed online as available for charter, but officials have not said who operated Sunday's flight. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry a cockpit voice recorder only when they are flown for hire. It is not known whether the jet carried such a recorder. This crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data cited by CNN.

In 2008, four people were killed when a Learjet 60 bound for Los Angeles crashed on takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina. NTSB records show this is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year. The first was a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people. Learjet, the brand that Bill Lear's Lear 23 made famous with wealthy travelers in the 1960s, was most recently built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. The company stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.