WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Nine people were killed when a Learjet 60 crashed and exploded Sunday afternoon in a residential area of Palm Beach County, officials said. The aircraft, flying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, went down near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North in West Palm Beach around 12:50 p.m.
The pilot reported ice accumulation on the airframe and moderate turbulence to air traffic control before declaring an emergency. In radio communications captured by LiveATC.net, the pilot stated the jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute and in an overspeed condition before the crash.
All nine people aboard the Learjet 60 died, the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed on X. Among the victims was Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, who earned her pilot's license in 2023 at age 17 through the Palm Beach County School District's specialized aviation academy. Filgueiras served as copilot; her license rated her to fly the jet but not to be in command of the flight.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the crash as "cataclysmic," saying it looked like a missile going down and left a large crater on the side of the road. Debris was scattered across a significant distance, but no injuries on the ground were reported. Approximately 600 residents of the Cresthaven mobile home park near the crash site were evacuated to the Greenacres Community Center.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash. The Learjet 60, built in 2004 and registered to an LLC in Delaware, was the most deadly crash involving that aircraft model according to the Flight Safety Foundation.
