All nine individuals aboard a Learjet 60 were killed on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when the aircraft nosedived into a residential neighborhood near West Palm Beach, Florida, just miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The fatal incident occurred at approximately 12:50 PM EST in the Cresthaven neighborhood of Palm Beach County, near the intersection of Military Trail and 10th Avenue North.
The private aircraft, bearing tail number N722BD, had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. According to preliminary tracking data, the plane took a sharp right turn at approximately 8,000 feet before plunging almost vertically into the ground and erupting into a massive fireball, leaving a burning crater near a busy roadway.
The crash site was situated roughly seven miles from Mar-a-Lago. President Trump had been at the resort earlier Sunday morning and departed from President Donald J. Trump International Airport aboard Air Force One at 11:55 AM, roughly an hour before the disaster unfolded.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the fatalities on social media, describing the crash as a “horrific tragedy” while noting that all nine occupants perished on board and that federal authorities are conducting a thorough investigation. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed reporters shortly after the crash, emphasizing that despite the aircraft slamming down feet from local homes, there appeared to be no casualties or injuries among residents on the ground.
At the flight’s origin, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesperson Jim Reynolds confirmed that the aircraft had departed Texas as a private charter. Reynolds stated that officials were working alongside authorities to confirm the manifest details, calling the event an utter tragedy for all involved. First responders from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County Fire Rescue closed off all traffic along Military Trail.
Local emergency officials reported that while the violent explosion disrupted electrical service to nearby homes for several hours, firefighters successfully contained the resulting blaze before it could engulf neighboring structures. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched a joint investigation into the crash.
Although weather reports indicated scattered storms in Palm Beach County around the time of the flight, federal investigators have not yet cited weather conditions or mechanical failure as the primary cause. Teams remain on-site working through the wreckage to retrieve the aircraft’s flight data recorders and piece together the final moments of the flight.
