Overview
- A privately operated Learjet 60 traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas plunged into a residential area in Palm Beach County on Sunday and exploded beside a busy road, killing all nine people aboard.
- Air-traffic recordings and flight-tracking feeds show the crew reported turbulence, light ice and precipitation, requested a climb, then made mayday calls as the jet entered a steep, accelerating descent with reported rates up to roughly 30,000 feet per minute.
- The impact left a large crater on Military Trail near 10th Avenue North, prompted the evacuation of about 600 nearby residents and closed the roadway while emergency crews fought fuel fires and secured the scene; officials reported no immediate ground fatalities.
- The NTSB is leading the inquiry with FAA support, teams on site are recovering wreckage and flight data recorders, victims’ identities have not been released and investigators say it may take weeks to months to determine a probable cause.
- Stormy conditions and a flood watch were in effect at the time and widely circulated dashcam and ATC audio are guiding the early reconstruction of the jet’s final minutes; the aircraft is registered as tail number N722BD.