| | {{infobox |
| | | title = 2026 Greenacres Learjet crash |
| | | type = Aviation accident |
| | | date = 1 November 2026, ≈12:50 p.m. EST |
| | | location = Military Trail near Cresthaven Boulevard, Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida |
| - | | aircraft = Learjet 60, registration N722BD (22-year-old airframe) |
| - | | operator = LR60271 LLC — listed for charter |
| + | | aircraft = Learjet 60, registration N722BD, serial 60-271 (built 2004) |
| + | | registered owner = LR60271 LLC, Wilmington, Delaware — listed for charter |
| | | route = Austin-Bergstrom Intl. (AUS) → North Eleuthera (ELH), Bahamas |
| | | occupants = 9 — all killed |
| | | ground casualties = none reported |
| | | investigation = NTSB (lead), FAA support; news conference expected 2 November |
| | }} |
| | {{date|2026-11-01}} |
| | |
| | A chartered **Learjet 60** business jet carrying nine people nosedived into a busy roadway in **Greenacres, Florida**, on Sunday, 1 November 2026, exploding into a fireball that left a crater in the pavement and killed everyone aboard. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed all nine occupants died; their identities had not been released as of Sunday evening.[[cite: Associated Press, ["Jet nosedives and erupts into fireball near busy roadway in South Florida. All 9 on board died"](https://apnews.com/article/palm-beach-plane-crash-ffdee609e7916ff7fcd178d2b8e69b39), 1 November 2026]][[cite: NBC News, ["Jet crashes in Florida, killing all 9 on board"](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jet-crashes-florida-nine-people-board-rcna606874), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| - | Minutes before impact, the crew told Miami Center the jet was picking up **"light, clear ice"** — described as "manageable" — along with moderate turbulence and precipitation, and requested a 2,000-foot climb. The aircraft then entered a steep, uncontrolled dive that reached roughly **30,000 feet per minute** — a descent rate beyond the design limits of the airplane.[[cite: Associated Press via NBC 6 South Florida, ["Pilot reported icing and turbulence minutes before nose-diving into Palm Beach road"](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/pilot-reported-icing-and-turbulence-minutes-before-nose-diving-into-palm-beach-road/3881553/), 1 November 2026]] |
| + | Minutes before impact, the crew told Miami Center the jet was picking up **"light, clear ice"** — described as "manageable" — along with moderate turbulence and precipitation, and requested a 2,000-foot climb. The aircraft then entered a steep, uncontrolled dive that peaked near **30,000 feet per minute** — roughly 340 mph straight down — while exceeding the aircraft's design speed limits.[[cite: Associated Press via NBC 6 South Florida, ["Pilot reported icing and turbulence minutes before nose-diving into Palm Beach road"](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/pilot-reported-icing-and-turbulence-minutes-before-nose-diving-into-palm-beach-road/3881553/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | It is the **deadliest Learjet 60 accident on record**, according to Flight Safety Foundation data, and the second-deadliest U.S. aviation accident of 2026 after the June skydiving-plane crash in Butler, Missouri, that killed twelve.[[cite: CNN via ABC17, ["9 killed after a Learjet crashes and erupts into flames in Palm Beach County, Florida"](https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-national/2026/11/01/authorities-investigating-after-plane-crashes-in-palm-beach-county-florida/), 1 November 2026]] The cause has not been determined; the National Transportation Safety Board leads the investigation. |
| | |
| | # The flight |
| | |
| - | The Learjet 60, registration **N722BD**, departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at approximately 10:37 a.m. Eastern on a chartered flight bound for **North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas**, according to the FAA and flight-tracking data. The aircraft was registered to LR60271 LLC, a Delaware company, and was listed online as available for charter.[[cite: Federal Aviation Administration, [accident and incident statements, 1 November 2026](https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/statements/accident_incidents)]][[cite: BNO News / ADS-B flight data via VT, ["Video shows Learjet 60 nosediving into Florida trailer park"](https://vt.co/news/us/learjet-60-nosedive-video-florida-trailer-park-greenacres-multiple-fatalities), 1 November 2026]] |
| + | The Learjet 60, registration **N722BD** (serial number 60-271, built in 2004), had positioned to Austin from Little Rock, Arkansas, on 31 October, then departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 15:37 UTC — 10:37 a.m. Eastern — on Sunday bound for **North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas**, according to the FAA and Flightradar24 tracking data. The FAA aircraft registry lists the jet as owned by **LR60271 LLC** of Wilmington, Delaware, with a registration certificate issued in January 2023; CNN reports the aircraft was listed online as available for charter. The registered owner is not necessarily the operator of Sunday's flight — no operator had been publicly named.[[cite: Federal Aviation Administration, [accident and incident statements, 1 November 2026](https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/statements/accident_incidents)]][[cite: Flightradar24, ["Learjet 60 crashes near West Palm Beach, Florida"](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/flight-tracking-news/major-incident/learjet-60-crashes-near-west-palm-beach-florida/), 1 November 2026]][[cite: FAA Aircraft Registry, [N-number inquiry: N722BD](https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N722BD)]] |
| | |
| - | Heading east at 35,000 feet, the crew reported icing, turbulence, and precipitation and requested clearance to climb. Instead, per FAA data, the jet dropped from **35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in just over a minute** — an average of roughly 350 feet per second — before slamming into the ground at about 12:50 p.m. near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.[[cite: ABC News, ["Learjet with 9 aboard crashes in Palm Beach County, Florida: FAA"](https://abcnews.com/US/learjet-9-aboard-crashes-palm-beach-florida-faa/story?id=137753599), 1 November 2026]] |
| + | Flight-tracking data shows the jet flew east across the Gulf coast and began a descent to 35,000 feet near Naples, Florida, at about 17:35 UTC. Continuing east at 35,000 feet, the crew reported icing, turbulence, and precipitation and requested clearance to climb. At 17:48 UTC the aircraft briefly climbed, then entered a steep right-hand dive: per FAA data it dropped from **35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in just over a minute** — an average of roughly 350 feet per second — before impacting terrain at 17:49 UTC, about 12:50 p.m. local time, near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.[[cite: ABC News, ["Learjet with 9 aboard crashes in Palm Beach County, Florida: FAA"](https://abcnews.com/US/learjet-9-aboard-crashes-palm-beach-florida-faa/story?id=137753599), 1 November 2026]][[cite: Flightradar24, [flight track of N722BD](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/flight-tracking-news/major-incident/learjet-60-crashes-near-west-palm-beach-florida/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | # Final minutes — the radio record |
| | |
| | Air traffic control audio captured by LiveATC.net records a rapid deterioration. About two minutes before the crash the pilot reported **"light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,"** with the turbulence jolting the aircraft by as much as 700 feet; outside air temperature was −47 °C. The pilot then reported picking up precipitation and asked to climb.[[cite: Associated Press via NBC 6 South Florida, [LiveATC.net recordings](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/pilot-reported-icing-and-turbulence-minutes-before-nose-diving-into-palm-beach-road/3881553/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | The next calls were distress calls: |
| | |
| | * "Mayday, mayday — we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." |
| | * "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute." |
| | * "We're gonna crash into the ground, 722 Bravo Delta." |
| | |
| | Flight-tracking data shows the descent rate peaked near **30,000 feet per minute** as the aircraft banked sharply to the right and dove steeply into the ground.[[cite: Associated Press via NBC 6 South Florida, [ATC recordings and flight-tracking data](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/pilot-reported-icing-and-turbulence-minutes-before-nose-diving-into-palm-beach-road/3881553/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | # Weather over South Florida |
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| | A **flood watch** was in effect for southern Florida, with numerous showers and scattered thunderstorms forecast through Monday, according to the National Weather Service. A stalled frontal boundary over the region was producing thunderstorm cells with cloud tops reaching tens of thousands of feet — conditions associated with both high-altitude icing and severe turbulence.[[cite: NBC News, [National Weather Service flood watch](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jet-crashes-florida-nine-people-board-rcna606874), 1 November 2026]][[cite: Palm Beach Post, ["Thunderstorms were firing on Sunday near where a Learjet went down"](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/weather/severe/2026/11/01/learjet-crash-in-greenacres-happened-during-stormy-day-in-south-florida/92555737007/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | # Impact and aftermath |
| | |
| | Dashcam video from cars on Military Trail captured the jet plunging nose-first and erupting into a fireball that left a burning crater in the roadway near a shopping center and a mobile home community. The impact ruptured a water main, brought down power lines, and scattered debris that struck nearby homes — but Governor Ron DeSantis reported **no injuries on the ground**. "It looked like a missile going down," DeSantis told reporters. "It left a big crater on the side of the road."[[cite: Associated Press via NBC 6 South Florida, [crash scene and DeSantis remarks](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/pilot-reported-icing-and-turbulence-minutes-before-nose-diving-into-palm-beach-road/3881553/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | Palm Beach County authorities evacuated roughly **600 people** from the adjacent mobile home community while federal investigators worked; Military Trail remains closed until further notice. Greenacres, a city of about 45,000, sits roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach.[[cite: Associated Press via NBC 6 South Florida, [evacuations](https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/pilot-reported-icing-and-turbulence-minutes-before-nose-diving-into-palm-beach-road/3881553/), 1 November 2026]] |
| | |
| | # The aircraft |
| | |
| - | The **Learjet 60** is a twin-engine midsize business jet derived from the Learjet 55, in service since the early 1990s and typically configured for two crew and six to eight passengers. N722BD was a 22-year-old airframe.[[cite: ABC News, [aircraft details](https://abcnews.com/US/learjet-9-aboard-crashes-palm-beach-florida-faa/story?id=137753599), 1 November 2026]] |
| + | The **Learjet 60** is a twin-engine midsize business jet derived from the Learjet 55 — a stretched fuselage and a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A turbofans rated at 4,600 pounds of thrust each. FAA type certification came in January 1993; roughly 430 were built between 1991 and 2012. The type seats a crew of two and up to eight passengers — Sunday's flight carried nine people total.[[cite: EASA, [Learjet Model 60 Type Certificate Data Sheet](https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/downloads/7238/en)]][[cite: Wikipedia, ["Bombardier Learjet 60"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_Learjet_60)]] |
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| - | Until Sunday, the deadliest Learjet 60 accident was the September 2008 runway overrun at Columbia, South Carolina, which killed four of six aboard — the two survivors, both seriously burned, included musician Travis Barker.[[cite: CNN via ABC17, [Flight Safety Foundation accident data](https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-national/2026/11/01/authorities-investigating-after-plane-crashes-in-palm-beach-county-florida/), 1 November 2026]] |
| + | Until Sunday, the deadliest Learjet 60 accident was the September 2008 runway overrun at Columbia, South Carolina, which killed four of six aboard — the two survivors, musicians Travis Barker and DJ AM, were both seriously burned.[[cite: CNN via ABC17, [Flight Safety Foundation accident data](https://abc17news.com/news/national-world/cnn-national/2026/11/01/authorities-investigating-after-plane-crashes-in-palm-beach-county-florida/), 1 November 2026]] |
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| | # What investigators will examine |
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| | NTSB investigators were expected at the site Sunday and Monday, with a news conference planned for Monday. The recorded icing reports make **airframe and tailplane icing** an obvious early line of inquiry: a veteran South Florida corporate pilot told the Palm Beach Post that ice on the tail can produce a tailplane stall capable of pitching an aircraft into an uncontrollable dive — but investigators have named **no cause**, and the speculation remains exactly that. Severe turbulence combined with icing can also overstress control surfaces.[[cite: Palm Beach Post, [pilot interviews and weather analysis](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/weather/severe/2026/11/01/learjet-crash-in-greenacres-happened-during-stormy-day-in-south-florida/92555737007/), 1 November 2026]] Whether the aircraft's flight recorders survived the impact crater had not been reported as of Sunday evening. |
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| | *This article is developing. It will be updated as the NTSB releases findings.* |
| | |
| | # See also |
| | |
| | - [[Learjet]] |
| | - [[Special:News]] — the news hub |
| | - [[:Category:News]] — all news articles |
| | |
| | [[Category:News]] |
