A Learjet 60 carrying nine people slammed nose-first into a residential neighborhood in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, killing everyone on board. The jet, registered N722BD, had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas when it entered a catastrophic dive roughly four miles south of President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
Flight data shows the aircraft dropped about 27,000 feet in a single minute before impact near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Descent rates hit extreme levels—reports put them near 10,000 feet per minute or higher. Videos captured the jet diving almost vertically, like a missile, before it exploded on impact, buckling the road and carving out a crater amid mobile homes and scattered debris. No ground fatalities have been confirmed.
Cockpit audio released online captures the female pilot’s final transmissions. She called, “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, we’re descending 10,000 FEET PER MINUTE.” Moments later she said, “LOOK OUTSIDE JACK… HOLY FU*K WE’RE OUT OF TIME.” The transmission ends at impact.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the death toll. “Today’s plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy,” he stated. “All 9 people on board were killed. The aircraft departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas. The FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the NTSB’s investigation. Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost.”
The FAA identified the flight path and stated that both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB leading. The jet is a roughly 22-year-old twin-engine Learjet 60 registered to a Delaware LLC and listed as available for charter. Emergency crews closed Military Trail in both directions as fires burned and debris littered the area.
This is the second-deadliest U.S. aviation crash of the year. The NTSB must move fast, release the full data without delay, and establish exactly what caused a stable cruise to turn into an uncontrolled freefall in under a minute. Nine lives ended in seconds. The families deserve answers, not speculation.
SOURCES
Federal Aviation Administration statements; Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy statements on X; Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Rescue reports; flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange and Flightradar24; Palm Beach Post; CNN; ABC News; Associated Press; RT video and audio post.
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