Nov 1, 2026 · @first source news
GREENACRES, Fla. — All nine people aboard a private business jet were killed Sunday afternoon when the plane plunged nose-first into a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, exploding in a fireball and leaving a burning crater beside a busy roadway.
The Learjet 60, tail number N722BD, went down around 12:50 p.m. near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in the Greenacres area, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The flight had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. An Austin airport spokesperson said it was a private flight.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that no one on board survived, calling the crash a “horrific tragedy” and asking the public to keep the victims’ families in their prayers. The victims have not been identified.
A steep, sudden descent
The FAA said the jet was diving at roughly 350 feet per second before it hit the ground. Videos shared online, including dashcam footage from a passing car, show the aircraft falling almost vertically before striking near a shopping center and erupting in flames and thick black smoke. Debris was scattered across the roadway.
The crash site is about eight miles from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
Impact on the ground
It remained unclear Sunday evening whether anyone on the ground was hurt. Some early reports said the jet clipped a tree and power lines and struck a mobile home; other accounts, including the Associated Press, said the fireball appeared to narrowly miss homes and that it was not known whether any houses were damaged. A woman working nearby said power in the area had been out for about two hours after the crash.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue responded and initially described the scene as a mass casualty incident. Greenacres Fire Rescue sent four units to assist. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office closed Military Trail in both directions between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, and drivers should expect the closure to continue while investigators work the scene.
Investigation underway
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with an FAA team on site to support it. Officials have not released any information about a possible cause, and investigators had not said whether weather played a role. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference on the crash Sunday.
The NTSB typically issues a preliminary report within about 30 days of a crash, with a final probable-cause determination often taking a year or more.
A familiar scene for the region
Sunday’s crash recalls the Jan. 31, 2025, crash of a Learjet 55 medical jet in Northeast Philadelphia, which killed everyone aboard and people on the ground near the Roosevelt Mall, and remains one of the deadliest aviation incidents in Pennsylvania in recent years.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
