Pilot Warned of Ice and Turbulence Before Fatal Learjet 60 Crash

All nine individuals aboard a Learjet 60 died on Sunday when the business jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities and described the incident as a horrific tragedy in a post on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that the aircraft crashed at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time.

The jet had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. The FAA noted that its initial count of nine souls on board is preliminary. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Austin airport, identified the aircraft as a private plane but did not disclose the identities of the occupants. He described the event as a definite tragedy and said he could not say who was on the flight. Officials had not said how many were passengers and how many were crew.

The crash site is located in the city of Greenacres, which has a population of roughly 45,000 and sits about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. Specifically, the jet struck the ground near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. This area is approximately four miles south of the West Palm Beach airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. CNN reported that President Trump was in West Palm Beach earlier on 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 told reporters the crash looked like a missile going down. He noted that the impact created a large crater beside the road. DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths on the ground, though he praised the quick response from county first responders. He added that the debris field stretched a considerable distance from the point of impact.

Video captured by witnesses in nearby vehicles showed the jet falling from the sky and exploding near the roadway. Flames surrounded chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was located only feet from homes and inches from passing traffic. Thick black smoke obscured the site, and footage from WPBF showed the road buckled where the aircraft struck.

Nearby residents described the chaos. Anthony Blackmon, who said he was about 500 feet from the crash, stated that debris hit his house and that everything was on fire, including the road. He said he had only ever seen such events on the news until it happened so close to him. Roger Forcelle reported that the aircraft passed directly over his home, shaking the entire structure. He said the crash was probably less than half a mile from where he lives. Andrew Mannino said he heard and felt a boom, followed immediately by a power outage. He smelled smoke and observed a large black cloud rising into the air.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night, county officials said. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the mobile home park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, although no official has alleged a crime. County Commissioner Joel Flores, the first county official at the scene, said residents were being moved to two county shelters with the Red Cross standing by. County officials said Palm Tran buses were ready to carry residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Military Trail was closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive, allowing only emergency vehicles to pass. The county advised 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 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 and flight tracking data revealed the jet was flying east at approximately 35,000 feet when pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They requested a climb of 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center that the aircraft had light, clear ice that was manageable and moderate turbulence. The pilot also reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence that was bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the request to climb. The pilot radioed: "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." The pilot reported an overspeed condition while descending at 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot then said the aircraft was going to crash into the ground. CBS News reported that the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The descent rate peaked at 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the jet beyond its design limits. The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle.

The FAA data showed the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the impact. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange recorded a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data signal ceased. CNN reported that scattered storms were in the area, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before the descent began. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET warning of thunderstorms in that area. Whether the weather played a role in the crash has not yet been determined. Heavy rain fell across the region Sunday, and the National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon.

The NTSB is leading the investigation and launched a go-team on Sunday. Investigators were expected to arrive on Sunday and Monday morning, with a media briefing planned for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert on in-flight icing, noting that ice can make managing flightpath and airspeed more difficult and prevent the plane from maintaining level flight.

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 said, "That is not a controlled descent. So at that point, it's clear whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane." Schiavo noted that the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane and that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known if the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when flown for hire. Records show this jet was offered for charter flights.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by the registration N722BD. The FAA registry lists the aircraft as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not stated who operated the specific flight on Sunday. This crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. 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, following 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, which stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.