Learjet 60 crash in Palm Beach County, Florida: all nine on board killed, officials say
A Learjet 60 crashed into a mobile-home neighbourhood near Greenacres in Palm Beach County, Florida, at about 12:50 p.m. ET on Sunday 1 November 2026, causing fires and scattered debris. The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, with nine people on board. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine on board were killed. As of 4 p.m. ET there had been no confirmation of fatalities on the ground. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB in charge.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- 3Checking claims7 of 8 claims checked
- 4Human gateStill to come
7 of 8 claims checked so far · step 3 of 4: Checking claims
Key points
- Killed: all nine on board, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said (FAA: nine on board, information preliminary).
- Flight: Austin-Bergstrom, Texas, to North Eleuthera, Bahamas — crashed about 12:50 p.m. ET Sunday into a mobile-home neighbourhood near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North, Palm Beach County.
- Ground: one person injured (a leg injury), no one on the ground killed and no other injuries reported — the NTSB's Monday position, replacing Sunday's early 'no injuries reported'.
- Investigation: FAA and NTSB will investigate, NTSB in charge; no cause has been stated.
Watch: the moment itself
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Video: NTSBgov · Watch on YouTube
What happened
The crash brought a business jet down in a residential neighbourhood in daylight, starting fires and scattering debris across the area around Military Trail, which the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office closed between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.
CNN, citing NTSB records, calls it the second-deadliest aviation crash in the United States this year, after June's skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, which killed 12 — that ranking is CNN's, carried here as its report, and the formal investigation is only now beginning.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The nine-on-board figure is the FAA's, reported by USA Today/Palm Beach Post, BBC and Reuters; the all-killed confirmation is Secretary Duffy's statement, reported by the same outlets and CNN. This page carries the toll as the Secretary's confirmed statement, not as an NTSB finding — the investigation has only begun, and the identities of those on board had not been released in the reporting read for this page.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Route, time, location and road closure are stated in the USA Today/Palm Beach Post report read directly in full in this pass (FAA for the route; Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for the closure), and agree with BBC, Reuters and CNN reporting. Distance-from-Mar-a-Lago figures disagree across outlets (six vs nine miles in earlier queue notes) and are not carried here.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: NTSB member Thomas Chapman said at the board's 2 November news conference that one person on the ground had a leg injury and no other injuries were reported — reported identically by CNN (read in full in this run) and USA TODAY (read in full in this run), which adds that the person was in a vehicle. Governor DeSantis's Sunday statement that there were no reports of ground injuries was the position at that time, not the final one.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (5 more)
Why this label: The investigation arrangement is stated by the FAA as reported by USA Today/Palm Beach Post, BBC and Reuters, read or indexed in this pass. No cause had been stated by any authority in the reporting read.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The descent figure is a flight-tracking service's data as reported by CNN, and the weather description is the Palm Beach Post's local reporting — neither is an official finding, and no authority in the reporting read linked weather or any other factor to the crash. Carried here only as attributed early information, labelled not yet verified.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: The evacuation figure, the mass-casualty declaration, the infrastructure damage and the at-least-30-days road closure are from Governor DeSantis and local officials at the news conference, as reported by the BBC in its full report read after first publish.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: NTSB member Tom Chapman and senior investigator Tim Monville at the 2 November briefing, as reported in full by CNN in this run (Chapman: 'we do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact'; weather 'a major focus'; Monville on wreckage recovery; preliminary report within 30 days). The breakup is an early investigative observation, not a cause — no cause has been determined. The briefing itself is attached to this page as the official NTSB video, verified via YouTube's oEmbed endpoint in this run.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Verified as family identifications, not official ones: CNN (read in full in this run) reports Filgueiras's family identifying her as co-pilot and says it confirmed Reed, Fehr and Cetina through family statements, and carries the Robinson/Sharp family statement; USA TODAY (read in full in this run) carries the sister's and mother's accounts of Filgueiras and the medical examiner's position that no official identifications had been made as of late Monday morning. The captain has not been identified in the reporting read, and no name is published here as an official identification.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The route, the approximate crash time and place, the nine on board and the Secretary's confirmation that all nine were killed — from the FAA via USA Today/Palm Beach Post, BBC and Reuters.
- That the NTSB will lead the investigation, with the FAA — and that no cause had been stated at publish time.
- Governor DeSantis said about 600 residents were being evacuated from a nearby trailer-park community, and Military Trail would be closed for at least 30 days (BBC report of the official news conference).
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- The ground toll is now settled by the NTSB's Monday briefing: one person injured (leg), no ground deaths and no other injuries reported; and investigators have early evidence of a breakup before impact, with weather at altitude a major focus (NTSB briefing via CNN and USA TODAY).
- Who several of the nine were, as identified by their families: co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, and passengers Adam Robinson, Helen Sharp, Emma (4) and Charlie (2) Robinson, Rachael Reed, Charmi Fehr and Anita Maria Cetina (family statements via CNN and USA TODAY).
What we don't know yet
- The official identifications of the nine — the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner was still working on them on Monday; the names on this page are family identifications, and the captain has not been identified in the reporting read.
- The cause of the crash — the NTSB has determined none; its preliminary report is expected within 30 days, and whether the reported icing and turbulence, or the early evidence of a breakup before impact, played a part is exactly what the investigation must establish.
Why it matters
A jet falling into a neighbourhood is the kind of disaster where the first official numbers matter and can still move: nine lives are confirmed lost by the Transportation Secretary, but the ground toll, the victims' names and the cause all remain to be established by the NTSB investigation this page will follow.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Checking in progress — the NTSB's first briefing and the families' identifications (queue #1084): NTSB member Tom Chapman said on Monday there is some evidence the aircraft broke up before impact, that weather at altitude is a major focus, and that one person on the ground suffered a leg injury with no other injuries reported — the ground claim is edited in place to that position. Families identified co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, and six passengers by family statements; official identifications have not been released, and that stays in what we don't know. The official NTSB briefing video is now attached (oEmbed verified 200 in this run). Basis: CNN and USA TODAY, both read in full in this run.
Update from the BBC's full report, read after first publish: Governor DeSantis said there were no reports of anyone on the ground killed or injured, called the descent 'like a missile coming down', and officials said about 600 residents were being evacuated from a nearby trailer-park community, with Fire Rescue declaring a mass casualty incident and Military Trail closed for at least 30 days. The ground-casualty claim is edited in place to carry both the 4 p.m. confirmation position and the Governor's wider statement; a final ground total is still not published.
Story published in Checking state (queue #810, developing #803). Basis: USA Today/Palm Beach Post read directly in full, cross-checked against BBC, Reuters and CNN reporting of the FAA and Secretary Duffy's statements. Ground casualties, identities and cause remain open.