Trump departs West Palm Beach airport over an hour before Learjet crash kills nine in Greenacres

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities in a post on X, calling the event a horrific tragedy. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the impact occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time.

The jet struck near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. This location is roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The site sits about four miles south of President Donald J. Trump International Airport. CNN reported that President Trump departed from that airport on Air Force One a little more than an hour before the crash. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the descent to reporters.

DeSantis stated that the plane looked like a missile going down and left a large crater on the side of the road. He noted that the debris field stretched a long distance. No reports at the time of his news conference indicated anyone on the ground was killed or injured. DeSantis praised Palm Beach County first responders for their quick response to the incident.

Video recorded by people in nearby cars captured the jet plunging from the sky. The aircraft struck near the roadway and exploded. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining the crater. The crash site was feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the area. Video from WPBF showed the road buckled where the jet impacted.

Anthony Blackmon, a resident about 500 feet from the crash, said 6 that debris hit his house. He stated that everything was on fire and the road was on fire. Roger Forcelle said the aircraft passed over his home and shook the whole house. He estimated the crash was less than half a mile from his residence. Andrew Mannino said he heard and felt the boom. The power went out immediately and remained out. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air.

County officials said the crash scene is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. The crash scene blocks the entrance to a nearby mobile home community. Approximately 600 residents had to leave their homes on Sunday night. No official alleged that a crime took place. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said residents were being sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross stood by, and Palm Tran buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement allowed the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. The road remained open only to emergency vehicles. The county directed drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive for east-west travel. Haverhill Road and Kirk Road were recommended for north-south travel. A county commissioner warned that parts of the road could stay closed for an extended time because of the crater. The timeline for reopening depends on the federal investigation.

Air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data provide details on the jet's final moments. The jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet. The pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation. They requested to climb 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center about light, clear ice and moderate turbulence. The pilot reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The turbulence bounced the jet by as much as 700 feet.

After the pilots reported precipitation, the descent accelerated rapidly. The pilot radioed that they were descending 8,000, then declared mayday and said they were descending 10,000 feet per minute. The pilot later reported an overspeed condition descending at 20,000 feet per minute. The pilot said the aircraft was going to crash into the ground. CBS News reported the pilot also said they were out of time. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute. The jet banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle.

The FAA stated the jet fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in one minute just before the crash. Flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed a drop of 27,000 feet in about a minute before data cut off. Scattered storms were in the area when the jet passed through a stronger storm cell a few minutes before the descent. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET for the area, warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Whether the weather played a part has not been determined.

Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday. The National Weather Service had a flood watch in effect through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert on in-flight icing. The alert warned that ice can make managing the airplane's flightpath and airspeed more difficult. It can also prevent the airplane from maintaining level flight.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst, said dashcam video will be important to investigators. She noted that the descent was not controlled. She stated that the pilots had lost control of the plane. The steep dive could have torn parts off the plane. A flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. It is not known whether the jet carried a cockpit voice recorder. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry one only when they are flown for hire. Records show the jet was offered for charter flights.

Flight tracking and FAA registry data identify the jet by its registration, N722BD. The FAA registry lists it as a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. The jet is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not said who operated the Sunday flight. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the jet was a private aircraft. He could not say who was on the flight and called the event a tragedy.

The NTSB is leading the investigation and launched a go-team on Sunday. Investigators were expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. The NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause has been determined. 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. A skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June killed 12 people. Learjet, the brand made famous by Bill Lear's Lear 23 in the 1960s, was most recently built by Bombardier. The Canadian manufacturer stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports the planes in service.