Overview
- The private Learjet 60 crashed near Military Trail in Greenacres, Palm Beach County at about 12:50 p.m. Sunday, erupting into a fireball and leaving a large crater on a busy roadway.
- All nine people aboard the Bahamas-bound jet were killed, officials confirmed, and authorities have not released the identities of the victims.
- The aircraft departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with tail number N722BD and was headed to the Bahamas when pilots reported turbulence, precipitation and ice and asked to climb.
- Air-traffic recordings and flight-tracking data show the crew declared mayday as the jet entered a steep, accelerating descent with reported rates reaching tens of thousands of feet per minute and an overspeed condition.
- The NTSB is leading the probe with FAA support and is using ATC audio, radar/ADS-B data, witness and dashcam video, wreckage and recorders to determine cause while local crews manage evacuations, road closures and infrastructure damage.