OAN Staff Lillian Mann
4:22 PM – Sunday, November 1, 2026
Nine people were killed after a Bahamas-bound Learjet nosedived and erupted into flames in Palm Beach County, Florida, officials said.
The crash is the second deadliest in the United States this year, according to National Transportation Safety Board records, after a skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, killed 12 in June.
The plane reportedly went from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in a little over a minute — roughly 350 feet per second — before it slammed into the ground nose-first, killing all nine people aboard, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
"It looked like a missile going down," Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said on Sunday following the crash.
The private jet — a twin engine Learjet 60 — took off from Austin, Texas, and was headed to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, according to the FAA.
Minutes prior to the crash, air traffic control radio recordings from LiveATC.net indicate the pilot reported ice buildup on the aircraft, an exterior temperature of -47 degrees Celsius, and moderate turbulence causing altitude swings of up to 700 feet.
"We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence," the pilot radioed the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Moments later, however, after noting the onset of precipitation and asking to ascend, the crew declared an emergency.
"We're descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," the pilot said. "We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute … We're going to crash into the ground."
On Sunday afternoon, footage showed the jet plummeting from the sky and bursting into a ball of flames upon hitting the ground. The impact of the jet left a crater near a shopping center in Palm Beach, authorities said.
Dashcam footage captures the moment a Learjet crashed and erupted into flames in Greenacres, Florida, on November 1.
— One America News (@OANN) November 2, 2026
Early reports indicate nine people were aboard the aircraft when it went down near a residential neighborhood.
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Authorities have not yet confirmed if there were any casualties on the ground, as of Sunday afternoon.
The crash occurred near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in a statement, adding that multiple roads have been closed around the scene with drivers ordered to avoid the area.
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