All nine people on board a Learjet 60 business jet were killed on Sunday afternoon, November 1, when the aircraft crashed into a residential area of Greenacres in Palm Beach County, Florida, and erupted in a fireball, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the jet had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was flying to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
Source: CNN
What happened, and exactly where
The crash happened at about 12:50 p.m. local time near South Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, in Greenacres, a residential community of mobile and modular homes just south of West Palm Beach. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirmed it was investigating an aircraft incident at that location, and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue described the response as an extended incident. Witnesses told local station CBS12 (WPEC) that an explosion and fire shut the road down and that a boom was heard for miles around.
Flight-tracking data published by ADS-B Exchange shows the jet descended 27,000 feet in the course of about one minute, just before the tracking data cut off, CNN reported. Video from CNN affiliate WPBF showed the road buckled where the plane slammed into it, leaving a crater in Military Trail. The crash site is about four miles south of the airport in West Palm Beach.
The aircraft and the flight
The aircraft was a Learjet 60, a twin-engine business jet widely used for private and charter flying. According to FAA records cited by CNN, it is registered to a limited liability company in Delaware and was listed as available for charter online. CBS12 reported the registration holder as LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware, and a spokesman for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Jim Reynolds, identified the aircraft's tail number as N722BD. The FAA stressed that its information is preliminary and subject to change.
Road closed, investigation under way
All northbound and southbound lanes of Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North are closed until further notice, the sheriff's office said, and motorists were advised to avoid the area and use alternate routes. Military Trail is one of Palm Beach County's main north-south arteries, so the closure affects local residents, delivery traffic and anyone travelling between Greenacres, Lake Worth Beach and West Palm Beach. Officials had not, in the reports available Sunday evening, confirmed whether anyone on the ground was injured.
Source: CBS12 / WPEC via STL30
Military Trail is closed in both directions between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North until further notice. Avoid the Greenacres crash area and expect an extended emergency response.
Weather, and what is not yet known
There were scattered storms in the area at the time of the crash, and the plane passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before it began descending, CNN reported. It is not known whether the weather contributed to the crash, and no cause has been suggested by investigators. According to NTSB records cited by CNN, this is the second-deadliest aviation crash in the United States this year, after a June skydiving-plane crash in Butler, Missouri, that killed 12 people.
What is solid
- Nine people were on board and all nine were killed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X
- The Learjet 60 was flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, the FAA said
- Military Trail is closed in both directions at the crash site until further notice
What is only claimed
- Whether stormy weather in the area contributed to the crash — investigators have not said
- Whether anyone on the ground was hurt — not confirmed in Sunday-evening reports
What happens next
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, with the NTSB in charge of the investigation and providing updates. An NTSB preliminary report normally follows within about 30 days, while a final probable-cause finding can take a year or more. For Palm Beach County's large South Asian community, including Punjabi families and truckers who use Military Trail and nearby I-95 daily, the immediate impact is the road closure and the shock of a fatal crash in a residential neighbourhood. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as officials confirm the victims' identities and the investigation's first findings.