Pilot Cries Mayday Before Greenacres Jet Falls

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, killing all nine people on board. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine died and called the crash a "horrific tragedy" in a post on X. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the jet hit the ground at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. It had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The aircraft struck the ground near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Sheriff's officials identified the crash site as Greenacres, a city of about 45,000 residents located roughly seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach. The impact site is approximately four miles south of President Donald J. Trump International Airport. CNN reported that President Trump was at the airport earlier that day and departed on Air Force One more than an hour before the jet went down.

Air traffic control recordings reveal the final moments of the flight. The pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation while flying east at about 35,000 feet. They asked to climb 2,000 feet. The pilot noted light, clear ice and moderate turbulence, with an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The jet was being tossed by turbulence that varied the altitude by as much as 700 feet.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the request for a climb. The pilot radioed that the jet was descending 10,000 feet per minute and declared a mayday. Moments later, the descent rate increased to 20,000 feet per minute as the plane entered an overspeed condition. The pilot stated the aircraft was going to crash into the ground. CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time."

The jet dropped from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in a single minute. Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange showed a loss of 27,000 feet in about one minute before the signal disappeared. The aircraft banked sharply to the right before impacting the ground at a steep angle. The AP reported the jet exceeded its design limits during the descent.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the crash site and described the scene to reporters. He said the jet looked like a missile falling from the sky and left a large crater on the side of the road. DeSantis noted that no ground casualties had been reported at the time of his news conference. He praised the quick response of local first responders and stated that the debris field stretched a long distance.

Video recorded by nearby drivers captured the jet plunging from the sky and exploding near the roadway. Flames burned around chunks of pavement lining the crater, which was located only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the site. Video from WPBF showed the road surface buckled where the jet struck it.

Anthony Blackmon, a resident living about 500 feet from the crash, told NBC 6 that debris hit his house. "Everything was on fire. The road was on fire," he said. Blackmon added that he had always seen plane crashes on the news but never expected one to happen so close to his home. Roger Forcelle said the aircraft passed over his house, shaking the structure. "It went right over us and crashed probably less than half a mile from where I live," Forcelle said.

Andrew Mannino told CNN that he heard and felt the boom from the impact. The power immediately went out and was still out. Mannino smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise into the air. Another witness said the aftermath looked like a meteor had hit the ground. The crash scene is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work, although no official has alleged a crime took place.

Approximately 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes on Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the mobile home park, county officials said. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, who was the first county official on scene, said residents are being sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross is standing by, and Palm Tran buses are ready to transport residents once law enforcement permits the evacuation.

Palm Beach County closed Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive until further notice. The road is open only to emergency vehicles. Officials advised drivers to use 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive for east-west travel and Haverhill Road and Kirk Road for north-south travel. A county commissioner warned that parts of the road could remain closed for an extended period due to the crater and the ongoing federal investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. It launched a go-team on Sunday, with investigators expected to arrive on Sunday and Monday. The NTSB planned a media briefing in West Palm Beach on Monday. No cause for the crash has been determined. The jet was operating in an area where the FAA had issued a convective SIGMET, a warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Scattered storms were in the region, and the jet passed through a stronger storm cell before beginning its descent.

The jet is registered as N722BD and is listed in the FAA registry as owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the jet is listed online as available for charter flights. Officials have not said who operated the flight on Sunday. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the jet was a private aircraft and could not identify the passengers. "This is definitely a tragedy," Reynolds said.

Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department, said dashcam video will be important to investigators. "That is not a controlled descent," she said. "So at that point, it's clear whatever happened, they had lost control of the plane." She noted that the steep dive could have torn parts off the plane and that a flight recorder could have been destroyed in the explosion. FAA rules require multi-engine jets to carry a cockpit voice recorder only when flown for hire. Records show this jet was offered for charter flights.

According to Flight Safety Foundation data, this is the deadliest crash ever involving a Learjet 60. The previous deadliest incident occurred in 2008 when four people were killed in Columbia, South Carolina. NTSB records show this is the second deadliest crash in the United States this year, following a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12. Learjet is a brand that was most recently built by Bombardier, which stopped making new Learjets in 2021 but still supports planes in service.