A private jet carrying nine people, including two pilots, crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on 1 November, killing everyone on board.
The Learjet 60 was travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it came down in a residential area near West Palm Beach, less than 11 km from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump had departed aboard Air Force One about an hour earlier.
Dashcam footage shows the aircraft plummeting almost vertically to the ground beside a busy road before erupting into a fireball on impact, leaving a large crater and scattered debris across the surrounding area.
⭕ In a horrific scene captured on dashcam, a business jet can be seen hitting the ground "like a missile" in a neighbourhood in #Florida on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, the US transport secretary said. The Lear Jet 60 crashed near Cresthaven, around nine miles (14 km) from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach County. The crash scene showed a crater in the middle of a residential road, and scattered burning debris of the wreckage. The aircraft from Austin, Texas, was headed to the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. @CBSNews said as per the air traffic control audio recorded moments before the crash, the pilot of the aircraft can be heard saying the plane was descending 10,000 feet per minute, then the pilot declared an emergency, yelling, "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute," CBS reported. "We’re gonna crash … We’re out of time," the pilot told the tower. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after watching the video of the aircraft said; "It’s like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere." #aviation #floridaplanecrash
— Shafek Koreshe (@shafeKoreshe) November 2, 2026
One man on the ground reportedly suffered a minor leg injury. Some 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were evacuated.
“I heard and felt the boom,” resident Andrew Mannino told CNN. He described seeing a large black cloud and losing power.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called it a “cataclysmic plane crash”, saying the aircraft “looked like a missile going down”.
Recordings of communications between the crew and air traffic control shed light on the flight’s final minutes.
Initially speaking calmly, a female crew member reported “light, clear ice” that was “manageable”, moderate turbulence and an outside temperature of minus 47°C.
Flying at 35,000 feet, the crew then reported precipitation and requested permission to climb to 37,000 feet, which was granted.
Less than 30 seconds later, the aircraft began descending rapidly. The crew member issued mayday calls, reporting a descent of 10,000 feet per minute.
She then shouted, “We are in an overspeed condition, descending 20,000 feet per minute”, before warning, “We’re going to crash in the ground!”
The recording ends with her shouting, “Holy fuck! We’re out of time!”
“We are banking 60 degrees.” I built this Learjet 60 N722BD crash visualization using ADS-B flight tracks, altitude and ground-speed records, final ATC radio calls, aerial imagery and crash-site photos. Radio-timed cockpit and exterior views put the descent into perspective, followed by actual dashcam impact footage. Estimated portions are clearly marked. Greenacres / West Palm Beach, Florida · Nov. 1, 2026 #Learjet60 #N722BD #WestPalmBeach
— jonfredric (@thejonfredric) November 2, 2026
According to the flight-tracking data, the Learjet descended 27,000 feet in just one minute before its signal disappeared.
Among those killed were technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their children Emma, four, and Charlie, two. Also on board were family friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, and the children’s nanny, Anita Maria Cetina.
The pilots were Jeff Gregory, 55, and Nathalia Filgueiras, 20. Filgueiras obtained her private pilot’s licence at 17. Her mother told The New York Times that she had been passionate about flying since childhood and loved the freedom it offered.
An update to yesterday’s post: families and reporting have now identified all nine people lost in the Palm Beach County plane crash. Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, their children Emma and Charlie, Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr, Anita Maria Cetina, and pilots Jeff Gregory and Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. Seeing their faces makes this loss even harder to take in. My heart is with their families, friends and everyone who loved them. May all nine be remembered for their lives, their love and the people they touched. 🕯️ https://t.co/LcSxobaJxm https://t.co/pyHrYUDLnY
— Weston Riley (@WestonRileyNV) November 3, 2026
Investigators are examining several possible causes, including weather conditions, icing and mechanical problems. Scattered thunderstorms were reported along the flight path, but their role, if any, remains unclear.
At a briefing on Monday, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Tom Chapman stressed that it was too early to determine the cause of the crash.
“You all saw what the weather was like here at the surface. What we have to determine is what the weather conditions were like at altitude,” he said.
Investigators have also found indications that the aircraft may have begun breaking apart before impact, with debris scattered across an area measuring approximately half a mile by four-tenths of a mile.
Here is the first media briefing by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding the November 1, 2026, Learjet 60 crash in Palm Beach County, Florida. The NTSB will investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, including possible weather-related factors, particularly the heavy thunderstorms reported in the area. The public is advised not to disturb or move any debris they may find. Anyone with photos or videos of the accident, or who witnessed the crash, is encouraged to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov and provide their information.
— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) November 2, 2026
Maintenance records suggest that a cockpit voice recorder, or “black box”, had been installed, although investigators have yet to establish whether it was still on board or could be recovered.
The crash was the second deadliest US aviation accident of 2026 and the deadliest involving a Learjet 60, according to NTSB records and the Flight Safety Foundation, respectively.
The NTSB has cautioned that establishing the cause will require a lengthy investigation.
