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Learjet crash in Palm Beach County kills nine

newsNov 1, 202635664

A Learjet 60 bound for the Bahamas crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard, officials said. The jet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport, the FAA reported; the aircraft is registered to a Delaware LLC and listed as available for charter. Minutes before the crash the pilot reported ice accumulation, an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius, and moderate turbulence, then declared an emergency saying the jet was descending at tens of thousands of feet per minute and radioed “We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute … We’re going to crash into the ground,” according to air traffic control recordings documented on LiveATC.net. Flight tracking data showed the jet lost 27,000 feet in about one minute before tracking data cut off. The crash produced a large debris field but no reported ground fatalities; about 600 residents near the scene need shelter because the wreckage blocks the entrance to a mobile home park. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened investigations, NTSB investigators will arrive Sunday and Monday, and a news conference is planned for Monday. Officials called the event a “horrific tragedy,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said it “looked like a missile going down,” and the Flight Safety Foundation said this is the worst crash involving a Learjet 60 on record in the United States this year.

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