Overview
- The Learjet 60 was en route from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas when it struck a road near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County, creating a large crater and a fire that destroyed the jet.
- Flight-tracking data and air-traffic recordings show the crew reported ice buildup and turbulence and then declared an emergency before the aircraft entered a near-vertical, high-rate descent.
- Federal teams from the FAA and the NTSB have opened a joint investigation, are recovering wreckage at the scene, and are trying to locate and preserve the cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
- Florida officials say there are nine confirmed fatalities on board and, based on initial assessments, no confirmed deaths on the ground; nearby residents were evacuated and some mobile homes were placed in shelters.
- Early media and family reports identify a 20-year-old co-pilot among the dead and say a family tied to a tech entrepreneur was on board, while investigators will next examine maintenance records, weather, and any structural evidence of in‑flight separation.