Source : Reuters
GREENACRES, Florida, November 1 – All nine people aboard a business jet flying from Texas to the Bahamas were killed on Sunday when the aircraft nose-dived into a residential area of Palm Beach County in South Florida, leaving a burning crater in a busy road, officials said.
Reuters reported on X early on November 2, 2026, Malaysia time, that nine people had died in the Learjet crash in south Florida. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Learjet 60 crashed near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County at about 12:50pm local time. The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, the FAA said, according to NBC News and local broadcaster WPTV.
‘A horrific tragedy’
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed on social media that everyone on board had died, calling the crash a “horrific tragedy”. “Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost,” he wrote, NBC News reported. The identities of those on board have not been released. FAA records show the aircraft is registered to a limited liability company in Delaware, according to NBC News.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who visited the scene, described the crash as “cataclysmic”. “It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road,” he told reporters. He said the debris field stretched a significant distance but that there were no reports of anyone on the ground being injured or killed.
Mayday call before the crash
Air traffic control audio carried by NBC News captured a woman on board declaring a mayday and saying the jet was descending at 10,000 feet per minute, and later 20,000 feet per minute. About two minutes earlier she had reported “light, clear ice” that was “manageable”, moderate turbulence and precipitation, and had asked to climb. A flood watch was in place for southern Florida at the time, the National Weather Service said.
DeSantis said the manner of the descent suggested “something happened in the air that was a big problem”, local station CBS12 reported, but investigators have not determined a cause. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation with the FAA’s help.
Hundreds of residents displaced
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said about 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were being relocated because the only entrance to their neighbourhood sits beside the wreckage, which is being treated as a crime scene. “We have about 600 people that we have to make sure that they have shelter tonight,” he said. Two shelters were prepared, with Palm Tran buses on standby and the American Red Cross ready to help, WPBF and CBS12 reported.
Military Trail was closed between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alameda Drive, with only emergency vehicles allowed through. Flores warned that the southbound side of the road might not reopen for at least 30 days because of the “massive crater”, and a county official said an emergency declaration requesting state assistance would be signed, according to CBS12. The crash site is about six miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Simple Flying reported. LNA will continue to follow developments.
Credit : Reuters’ X, with reporting from NBC News, the Associated Press, WPTV, WPBF and CBS12.
About The Author
