On a rainy Sunday afternoon, a privately operated Learjet 60 bound from Texas for the Bahamas fell out of the sky onto a busy stretch of Military Trail in Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people aboard. It is the kind of loss that reminds a community how thin the line is between an ordinary errand of travel and catastrophe, and how close the sky can come to ordinary streets. Investigators from the FAA and NTSB now begin the slow work of turning the pilot's last urgent words into an account of why the aircraft came down, a question that will matter long after the smoke has cleared.
Final ATC Audio Captures Pilot's Mayday as Learjet 60 Crashes in Greenacres, Florida, Killing All Nine Aboard
All nine people aboard were killed, and about 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were evacuated as a precaution.
It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater
Mark
Nine people died, but nobody on the ground, as far as we know. How close was it?
Mimi
Close. The jet hit near Cresthaven beside Military Trail, a busy six-lane road, and missed homes and vehicles. The governor said there were no immediate reports of injuries on the ground.
Mark
What do the recordings tell us?
Mimi
The pilot began by calling the ice manageable and the turbulence moderate. After precipitation, he asked to climb 2,000 feet, then reported a fast descent, mayday calls, an overspeed condition, and finally that they would crash.
Luke
Careful with the numbers, though. The pilot quoted 10,000 and then 20,000 feet per minute. The 30,000 figure comes from flight-tracking data, and that is not the same as a finished investigation.
Mark
So the audio doesn't give a cause?
Luke
No. It gives the pilot's account of conditions as he saw them. Icing, turbulence and precipitation were reported, but officials have not said what caused the crash.
Mimi
And the NTSB, with FAA help, is only beginning that work.
Mark
Why evacuate 600 people from a mobile home community?
Mimi
It was described as a precaution. Nothing in the reporting says those residents were hurt.
Luke
We also don't know who the nine were. Identities haven't been released, and all we have on the plane is that it was privately operated, registration N722BD.
Mimi
Which is why the next announcements, on names and cause, matter most.
Der Puls
- A Learjet 60 with nine people aboard fell from the sky within moments of a pilot's mayday calls, slamming into a six-lane road in Greenacres.
- The pilot reported icing, turbulence and a descent that climbed past 30,000 feet per minute, turning routine flight into a free fall.
- Motorists filmed the jet dropping toward the ground and erupting in fire, leaving a crater beside homes, businesses and traffic.
- About 600 mobile home residents were evacuated as a precaution while Military Trail stayed closed and rain fell over the scene.
- The FAA and NTSB have arrived to determine the cause, and no explanation or victim names have yet been released.
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, a privately operated Learjet 60 bound from Texas for the Bahamas fell out of the sky onto a busy stretch of Military Trail in Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people aboard. It is the kind of loss that reminds a community how thin the line is between an ordinary errand of travel and catastrophe, and how close the sky can come to ordinary streets. Investigators from the FAA and NTSB now begin the slow work of turning the pilot's last urgent words into an account of why the aircraft came down, a question that will matter long after the smoke has cleared.
A Learjet 60 came down on a residential stretch of Greenacres, in Florida's Palm Beach County, on Sunday afternoon. All nine people aboard were killed. The jet had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for the Bahamas. It struck the ground beside Military Trail, a busy road lined with restaurants and businesses, missing nearby homes and vehicles but erupting into a fireball that left a crater at the roadside.
Air traffic recordings reveal how the final minutes unfolded. At 35,000 feet, the pilot first sounded calm, reporting manageable light ice and moderate turbulence. After the jet entered precipitation and requested a climb, it began to lose altitude fast. His voice grew urgent: he declared mayday twice, reported an overspeed condition, and said the aircraft was going to crash. Flight data show the descent eventually reached about 30,000 feet per minute.
Around 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were evacuated as a precaution, and emergency crews declared a mass casualty incident. Heavy rain fell across the region, and a flood watch was in effect. The FAA is assisting the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating. Officials have yet to establish a cause or release the names of those killed, and the recordings leave investigators with the central question of what brought the jet down.
A Learjet 60 came down on a residential stretch of Greenacres, in Florida's Palm Beach County, on Sunday afternoon, and all nine people aboard were killed. The jet hit the ground near Cresthaven, beside Military Trail, a six-lane road lined with businesses and restaurants. It missed nearby homes and vehicles and burst into a large fireball, leaving a crater at the edge of the road.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the crash happened at about 12:50 pm Eastern time and called it a horrific tragedy. According to authorities, the aircraft had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for the Bahamas. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Austin airport, said the plane was privately operated and gave its registration as N722BD. He said details about the passengers were not yet available.
Air traffic control recordings and flight-tracking data show how the last minutes went. The jet was flying east at 35,000 feet when it ran into turbulence, icing and precipitation. At first the pilot sounded steady, telling controllers there was light, clear ice that was manageable, along with moderate turbulence. After the aircraft met precipitation, it asked for permission to climb 2,000 feet. Then it began losing altitude fast.
The pilot's calls grew more urgent. He reported descending at 8,000 feet, declared mayday twice, and said the rate was 10,000 feet per minute. In a later transmission he reported an overspeed condition with the descent at 20,000 feet per minute, and then said the aircraft was going to crash into the ground. Flight-tracking data indicate the descent rate eventually reached about 30,000 feet per minute.
Motorists recorded video of the jet dropping toward the ground and exploding on impact. Thick black smoke and flames rose from the site. The crash was about nine miles (14 km) from President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, speaking to reporters at the scene, said there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths among people on the ground. He called it a cataclysmic crash, said it looked like a missile going down, and noted the big crater it left beside the road. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared a mass casualty incident. As a precaution, authorities began evacuating around 600 people from a nearby mobile home community, and Military Trail was closed, with drivers urged to stay away.
Heavy rain was falling across the region at the time. The National Weather Service had issued a flood watch that was due to stay in effect until Monday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating. Officials have not established a cause and have not released the names of those killed. The recordings describe what the pilot reported, but what brought the jet down is the question the investigators now have to answer.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute. We're going to crash into the ground.— Pilot, in air traffic control audio
It was a cataclysmic plane crash.— Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
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