All nine people aboard a private Learjet 60 business aircraft were killed on Sunday after the plane suffered a catastrophic in-flight failure and plunged into a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida.
The crash occurred less than seven miles from United States President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, leaving a massive flaming crater near a busy roadway and prompting emergency evacuations of hundreds of residents.
United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the tragic loss of life in an official statement, noting that all nine occupants perished on impact. Federal Aviation Administration records indicate the twin-engine jet departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading toward North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas before dropping off radar around 12:50 p.m. local time.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed reporters near the crash site, describing the incident as a “cataclysmic” event.
“It looked like a missile going down,” DeSantis said, referencing video footage captured by nearby motorists. “It’s a horrific tragedy, but we are fortunate that no one on the ground was killed or injured.”
The impact damaged local infrastructure, severing power lines and underground water mains at the entrance of a mobile home community in the Cresthaven area. Palm Beach County officials immediately evacuated approximately 600 residents, relocating them to emergency community shelters while hazardous materials and fire teams contained the blaze.
Audio recordings retrieved from air traffic control channels captured the crew’s final moments as they battled treacherous weather over South Florida. Moments before the crash, a pilot reported encountering heavy ice accumulation, moderate turbulence, and intense precipitation, requesting permission to climb to a higher altitude.
The situation deteriorated rapidly. Within seconds, a pilot declared a Mayday emergency, shouting to controllers: “We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute… We’re going to crash into the ground!” Controllers registered peak descent speeds exceeding 20,000 feet per minute before radio communications went entirely silent.
President Trump was present at his Mar-a-Lago estate earlier on Sunday but departed from President Donald J. Trump International Airport aboard Air Force One roughly one hour before the Learjet crashed.
Investigative teams from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have secured the crash site. Federal investigators will focus on weather radar data, maintenance records of the 22-year-old aircraft, and flight data recorders to determine the precise cause of the stall and steep nose-dive.
