Overspeed: Learjet Exceeds Limits Before 27,000 Foot Plunge

A Learjet 60 plummeted 27,000 feet in roughly one minute before smashing into a road in Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people on board Sunday, November 1, 2026. The aircraft, which departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, hit the ground near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people were killed and called the crash a horrific tragedy in a post on X while the National Transportation Safety Board began its investigation.

The jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet when the pilot reported light, clear ice and moderate turbulence to the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center. The pilot noted an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius and turbulence bouncing the jet by as much as 700 feet. Shortly after these reports, the descent rate spiked to 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000, and finally 30,000 feet per minute, pushing the aircraft beyond its design limits. The pilot radioed a mayday, stating they were in an overspeed condition and that they were going to crash into the ground.

CBS News reported that the pilot also said, "We're out of time." The FAA said the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute before impact. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before the data cut off, CNN reported. The aircraft banked sharply to the right and struck the ground at a steep angle, creating a crater in the roadway. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement near the explosion site, and thick black smoke covered the area. Video recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet plunging from the sky and striking near the roadway.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officials placed the crash site in Greenacres, a city of about 45,000 residents located roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The site is approximately four miles south of the local airport, which was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport earlier this year. Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and told reporters the crash looked like a missile going down, leaving a big crater on the side of the road. He said there were no reports of anyone on the ground being killed or injured at the time of his news conference. DeSantis praised Palm Beach County first responders for their quick response and noted that the debris field stretched a long distance.

Residents in the immediate vicinity felt the impact. 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 and that it crashed probably less than half a mile away. Andrew Mannino told CNN he heard and felt the boom, and the power immediately went out. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. Another witness described the aftermath as looking like a meteor hit the ground. A woman working nearby said the electricity had been out for about two hours.

About 600 people in a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night because the crash scene blocks the entrance to the park. County officials are treating the site 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 on scene, said residents were being sent to two county shelters. He said the Red Cross was standing by and Palm Tran buses were ready to carry residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation. Flores emphasized the need to ensure about 600 people had shelter that night.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice, allowing only emergency vehicles through. The county directed 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 due to the crater. Officials said the timeline for reopening also depends on the federal investigation.

The NTSB launched a go-team Sunday, with investigators expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. The agency 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, said dashcam video will be important to investigators. She stated that the descent was not controlled and that whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane. She noted that the steep dive could have torn parts off the aircraft and that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known whether the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder, as FAA rules require them only for multi-engine jets flown for hire.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by registration number 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 flights, but officials have not said who operated Sunday's flight. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the jet was a private aircraft and could not say who was on the flight. He called the event a definite tragedy. Officials had not released the names of the nine people killed or specified how many were passengers versus crew.

The 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. The Learjet brand, made famous by Bill Lear in the 1960s, was last built by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, which stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.

Scattered storms were in the area when the jet crashed, and the aircraft passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before the descent began. The flight was in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Whether the weather played a part in the crash has not 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 issued a safety alert on in-flight icing in January 2024, warning that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult and can prevent the airplane from maintaining level flight.

The FAA said its information on the crash is preliminary. The agency is sending a team to the scene to support the NTSB's investigation. The jet was flying east when the pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation. The pilot's final radio transmissions described a rapid descent. The aircraft's registration, N722BD, is listed online as available for charter, but officials have not said who operated the flight.