Learjet 60 Crashes in Palm Beach County Killing All Nine Aboard

A Learjet 60 business jet crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on November 1, 2026, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft, registration N722BD, had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas when it entered a rapid descent and hit the ground near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators said there is evidence the plane began to break up before impact. Board member Tom Chapman stated that some components separated in flight, though the exact parts remain under examination. The crash left a crater near a mobile home park. One person on the ground suffered a leg injury.

The crew reported light clear icing, moderate turbulence, and precipitation while at 35,000 feet. Outside air temperature was around minus 47 to 53 degrees Celsius. Pilots requested a climb to 37,000 feet, which air traffic control approved. Less than 30 seconds later the aircraft was descending at rates that increased from 10,000 to more than 20,000 feet per minute. The final transmission included the phrase “we’re out of time.”

The plane fell from about 35,000 feet to impact in roughly one minute. Dashcam video captured the jet hitting the ground nearly vertically and exploding. Heavy thunderstorms were present in the area. Meteorologists noted the storm cells had built rapidly to over 48,000 feet.

Families identified the passengers as Austin tech entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp, their children Emma (2) and Charlie (4), nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and couple Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The 20-year-old copilot was named as Nathalia Filgueiras, who had grown up in Palm Beach County and obtained her pilot’s license at 17. The aircraft was operated as a Part 135 charter by Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jets.

The NTSB described the recovery as daunting because of the high-speed impact and scattered debris over a half-mile radius. Officials have not yet released a probable cause. Investigators are examining the role of icing on the horizontal stabilizer and the sequence of structural failure.

The crash site lies about 9 to 14 kilometers from Mar-a-Lago. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the impact “cataclysmic.” Local authorities secured the area overnight while federal teams arrived on November 2.

The combination of reported icing, rapid altitude loss, and evidence of in-flight breakup points to a sequence that investigators will reconstruct from flight data, radar tracks, and wreckage distribution. Recovery of remains continues through DNA analysis given the force of the impact.