Learjet 60 crashes in Palm Beach County, killing all nine aboard
A privately owned Learjet 60 flying from Austin to the Bahamas broke up in flight and crashed on Military Trail on 1 November, killing the nine people on board and injuring one person on the ground.
Palm Beach County, Florida2 min read
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A Learjet 60 registered N722BD crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on 1 November, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft was flying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Investigators have indicated that the jet began to break apart before impact. One person on the ground sustained a minor injury. Approximately 600 residents of a nearby mobile-home community were evacuated.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. Flight-tracking data show the aircraft descended more than 27,000 feet in roughly one minute before contact was lost. Witnesses described the impact as resembling a meteor strike. The crash site is on Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office cordoned the area.
Aircraft, crew and passengers
The Learjet 60 is a business jet. The captain was 55-year-old Jeff Gregory. The first officer was 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras from Boca Raton. The seven passengers included technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen, their two young children Emma and Charlie, two family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children’s nanny Anita Maria Apellido Cetina. The crash is the deadliest involving a Learjet 60.
The aircraft departed Austin earlier on 1 November. No public distress call details beyond the rapid descent have been released by the NTSB. The board has not yet issued a preliminary factual report. Weather at the time was not cited by authorities as a primary factor in initial statements.
Ground impact and response
The jet struck near a roadway. One person travelling in a nearby vehicle received a leg injury. Two emergency shelters were opened for the roughly 600 residents who were evacuated or displaced from the mobile-home community. Debris was scattered across the crash site. Local emergency services responded within minutes.
The NTSB has recovered the flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders. Analysis of those devices, along with wreckage examination, will determine the sequence of the in-flight breakup. No cause has been stated. The investigation is expected to take months.
What is established
All nine occupants died. The aircraft was a Learjet 60 on a private flight from Austin to the Bahamas. It experienced a high-speed descent and possible in-flight breakup before hitting the ground in Palm Beach County on 1 November. One ground injury and the evacuation of about 600 residents are confirmed. Further findings await the NTSB preliminary report.
