Mobile home park residents forced to leave after jet crash leaves crater and kills nine in Greenacres

Residents in the Florida city of Greenacres heard a loud boom and saw thick black smoke on Sunday, November 1. Nine people aboard a private business jet were killed when the aircraft crashed into a neighborhood near Military Trail, ending a flight from Texas to the Bahamas. The impact left a large crater on the side of a busy roadway, sending debris into nearby homes and forcing about 600 people to leave their mobile home park.

The Federal Aviation Administration said nine people were on board, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all of them were killed. The crash occurred at approximately 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. The jet had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Its intended destination was North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Officials described the information as preliminary. No names of the victims have been released yet, nor has a distinction been made between the passengers and crew members.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy labeled the event a "horrific tragedy" in a social media post. He stated that the FAA was dispatching a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation. An NTSB go-team was launched on Sunday, with investigators expected to arrive Sunday and Monday morning. A media briefing is scheduled for Monday in West Palm Beach. No cause for the crash has been determined.

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, told the Associated Press the jet was a private aircraft. He could not say who was on the flight. "This is definitely a tragedy," Reynolds said. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office located the crash site near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Greenacres is a city of approximately 45,000 people, situated about seven miles southwest of West Palm Beach.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the scene and described the crash as "cataclysmic." He told reporters the jet "looked like a missile going down" and left a significant crater. DeSantis said there were no initial reports of ground casualties. He noted that the debris field stretched a considerable distance and praised local first responders for their rapid response. The site is roughly four miles south of the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

Air traffic control recordings captured the final minutes of the flight. The pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation while flying east at about 35,000 feet. They requested a climb of 2,000 feet. Minutes before the crash, the pilot told the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center that the ice was light and manageable. The pilot reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius. The jet was bouncing by as much as 700 feet due to turbulence.

The situation deteriorated rapidly after the precipitation report. The pilot radioed, "We're descending 8,000, mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." The pilot later stated, "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute." The pilot then said, "We're going to crash into the ground." CBS News reported the pilot also said, "We're out of time."

Data from flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange showed the jet dropped 27,000 feet in about one minute before the data signal stopped. The FAA stated the aircraft fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in that final minute. The descent rate reached as high as 30,000 feet per minute. The plane banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground at a steep angle. That descent rate pushed the jet beyond its design limits.

Video recorded by people in nearby cars showed the jet plunging from the sky and exploding. Flames surrounded chunks of pavement near the crater, which was feet from homes. Thick black smoke covered the area. Nearby resident Anthony Blackmon, who said he was about 500 feet from the crash, said debris hit his house. "Everything was on fire. The road was on fire," Blackmon said. Another resident, Roger Forcelle, felt the aircraft pass over his home, shaking the structure.

Andrew Mannino told CNN he heard a boom and felt the power go out. He smelled smoke and saw a large black cloud rise. A woman working nearby said the electricity remained out for about two hours. The crash is the deadliest ever involving a Learjet 60, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. The previous worst incident for this model occurred in 2008 in Columbia, South Carolina, killing four people.

About 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community had to leave their homes Sunday night. The crash scene blocks the entrance to the park and is being treated as a crime scene while federal investigators work. No official has alleged a crime occurred. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said residents were being sent to two county shelters. The Red Cross was on standby, and county buses were ready to transport residents once law enforcement cleared the way.

Military Trail was closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive. Only emergency vehicles were permitted through. County officials advised drivers to use alternative routes for east-west and north-south travel. A commissioner warned that parts of the road could remain closed for an extended period due to the crater and the federal investigation.

Scattered storms were present in the area when the jet crashed. The aircraft passed through a stronger storm cell minutes before the descent began. The FAA had issued a convective SIGMET for the region, warning of thunderstorms that threaten aircraft. Heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday, and the National Weather Service maintained a flood watch through Monday afternoon. In January 2024, the NTSB issued a safety alert regarding in-flight icing, noting that ice can prevent an airplane from maintaining level flight.

The jet, registered as N722BD, is a Learjet 60 owned by LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. CNN reported the aircraft is listed online as available for charter. Officials have not identified who operated the specific flight on Sunday. The crash is the second deadliest in the United States this year, following a skydiving plane accident in Butler, Missouri, in June that killed 12 people. Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer that last built new Learjets in 2021, still supports the aircraft in service.