Nine people were killed when a Learjet 60 business jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, 2026, with federal investigators examining evidence that the aircraft began breaking apart before striking the ground.
The jet was carrying seven passengers and two crew members on a flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
- Nine people, including two young children and two crew members, died when a Learjet 60 crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida.
- NTSB investigators found evidence that the business jet may have started breaking apart before impact. The pilot reported icing, severe turbulence and a rapid descent.
- One person on the ground was injured, while approximately 600 residents near the crash site faced disruption as investigators examined wreckage scattered across the area.
The aircraft crashed in Greenacres, approximately 11 kilometres southwest of West Palm Beach, and exploded on impact. Video footage showed the jet banking sharply to the right before hitting the ground near a road and erupting in flames.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman said investigators had identified evidence suggesting the aircraft began breaking apart in flight. Debris may be spread across a considerable area, complicating the investigation.
NTSB investigates possible midair breakup of Learjet 60
The cause of the crash has not been determined, but investigators are focusing on the aircraft’s behaviour before impact and the severe weather reported by its crew.
The Learjet was flying at approximately 11,000 metres when a pilot reported ice accumulating on the aircraft and turbulence causing altitude fluctuations of up to 700 feet (213 metres).
“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told air traffic controllers, according to recordings captured by LiveATC.net.
The situation deteriorated rapidly after the pilot requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet, approximately 610 metres.
The crew subsequently declared an emergency as the aircraft began descending at an extreme rate.
We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute, the pilot reported. The descent continued to accelerate. We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute, the pilot told controllers.
Moments later, the crew transmitted a final warning: “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
Heavy rain affected South Florida on Sunday, and Chapman confirmed that weather conditions would be a major focus of the investigation.
Investigators will also examine the evidence of structural breakup to establish the sequence of events before the aircraft struck the ground.
The jet was originally equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, which investigators hope to recover.
Chapman warned that the recovery operation would be difficult because the impact crater had filled with rainwater.
Florida plane crash victims include family with two children
Among those killed were technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their children, four-year-old Emma and two-year-old Charlie.
In a joint statement, relatives described Robinson and Sharp as “devoted parents” and said their children were “the light of their lives”.
Other passengers included Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, whom relatives remembered as “full of joy and adventure”.
The family’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, was also aboard the aircraft. “Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion,” the family said.
The victims also included 20-year-old copilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, whose identity was confirmed by her mother, Camila Corteleti, in interviews with the New York Times and New York Post.
Filgueiras earned her pilot’s licence in 2023 while attending West Boca Raton Community High School in Florida as a 17-year-old senior.
Her licence included a rating for the Learjet model involved in the crash, although she was not authorised to act as pilot in command.
Her father, Allan Filgueiras, told The Associated Press that he was not prepared to discuss the accident.
Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
“Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” she said.
Florida crash injures motorist and disrupts nearby homes
Although all nine occupants of the aircraft died, authorities reported one injury on the ground.
NTSB senior air safety investigator Tim Monville said a man sustained a leg injury while inside a vehicle leaving the affected area.
The crash scattered wreckage near residential properties and a busy road, raising safety concerns for people living close to the impact site.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel G Flores said officials could not determine when residents would be permitted to return to their homes.
A temporary shelter was established to accommodate approximately 600 residents associated with nearly 80 mobile homes near the crash site.
Investigators face a substantial recovery operation involving damaged aircraft components, debris distributed across the surrounding area and a water-filled impact crater.
The NTSB investigation will focus on the aircraft’s reported icing and turbulence, its rapidly increasing descent rate and evidence that structural components may have separated before ground impact.
Investigators have not established whether the weather conditions caused the loss of control or whether the suspected midair breakup preceded the aircraft’s final descent.
