A private Learjet 60 crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, killing all nine people on board, according to Sky TG24. The aircraft had departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed for the Bahamas when it lost altitude and came down near the Cresthaven neighborhood, a short distance from Mar-a-Lago, the president's Florida residence.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who traveled to the crash site, described the event as a catastrophic accident and said no injuries had been reported on the ground, Sky TG24 reports. He likened the falling aircraft to a missile coming down.
Why it matters
The crash killed everyone aboard and put a private jet down in a populated area, yet the toll stayed confined to the aircraft. That outcome, combined with the proximity to a presidential property, drew national attention to the incident within hours.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the Palm Beach County crash a terrible tragedy and confirmed the death toll, according to Sky TG24. The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into what caused the aircraft to go down.
Evacuation and a presidential absence
Around 600 residents of the area were moved out as a precaution and taken temporarily to reception facilities, Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said, per Sky TG24. President Donald Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago when the plane went down; he had left for the White House roughly an hour before the crash, the outlet reports.
Video circulating on social media showed the aircraft descending steeply at high speed, according to Sky TG24.
The final radio calls
An audio recording posted on the aviation site LiveATC.net, cited by Sky TG24, captures the last emergency exchange between the cockpit and an air traffic controller. A female voice opens with a mayday call, reporting a descent of 10,000 feet per minute. She does not initially mention turbulence and says the crew is managing ice buildup on the aircraft.
The same voice then reports the plane has entered an area of precipitation and needs to climb. The situation deteriorates quickly: she declares an emergency over excessive speed and says the aircraft is now losing altitude at 20,000 feet per minute, more than 6,000 meters. The controller tells the crew the altitude is at their discretion and asks what they need. The woman replies that the plane is about to hit the ground, and the transmission ends there, Sky TG24 reports.
What to watch
The FAA investigation is now the central thread: its findings on the loss of altitude and the crew's reports of icing and speed will determine what is known about the final minutes of the flight.
