Palm Beach Learjet Crash: 26,000 Feet in About a Minute

On Sunday, November 1, 2026, a Learjet 60 business jet flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas fell more than 26,000 feet in about a minute over Palm Beach County, Florida. All nine people on board were killed. The cause is not known yet; the NTSB is investigating. What the video shows, and where each fact comes from: - The jet was flying east at about 35,000 feet. The crew reported precipitation, ice and moderate turbulence, with thunderstorms in the area, and asked to climb. (AP; NBC News; Flightradar24; CNN) - At 12:48 p.m. Eastern it banked into a steep diving turn to the right. The FAA said it went from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in a little over a minute. (ABC News, citing the FAA; CNN; Flightradar24 data) - A pilot called mayday and reported "an overspeed condition" while "descending 20,000 feet per minute." (Radio call as reported by AP and CNN) - Every jet has a maximum safe speed. The Learjet 60's limit at cruise altitude is Mach 0.81, or 81 percent of the speed of sound. (FAA and EASA type certificate data) - Twice a second, the jet broadcast its height and speed on ADS-B, the signal flight-tracking apps use. That signal can't show a fall faster than about 32,600 feet per minute, and at one point this jet's reading maxed out, so it was falling at least that fast. (Flightradar24 data; adsb.lol data; the ADS-B message format) - It crashed near Greenacres, Florida, beside a mobile home community. About 600 residents were evacuated, and no injuries were reported on the ground. (AP; CBS12; WPTV) - The NTSB's first (preliminary) report usually comes within about 30 days. The final report, with a probable cause, usually takes 12 to 24 months. (NTSB) Sources: - AP (via PBS NewsHour): https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/all-9-people-aboard-a-jet-that-crashed-in-florida-have-died-transportation-secretary-says - CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/01/us/south-florida-plane-crash - ABC News (FAA statement): https://abcnews.com/US/learjet-9-aboard-crashes-palm-beach-florida-faa/story?id=137753599 - NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jet-crashes-florida-nine-people-board-rcna606874 - Flightradar24: https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/flight-tracking-news/major-incident/learjet-60-crashes-near-west-palm-beach-florida/ - WPTV: https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/greenacres/fiery-incident-reported-near-military-trail-and-10th-avenue - NTSB (investigation launched): https://x.com/NTSB_Newsroom/status/2117020051320836231 - NTSB, how an investigation works: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process - EASA type certificate data sheet, Learjet 60 (speed limits): https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/downloads/7238/en - FAA, what ADS-B is: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/adsb - The ADS-B message format (RTCA DO-260B), explained in J. Sun, The 1090 MHz Riddle (TU Delft): https://doi.org/10.34641/mg.11 Flight data: adsb.lol (https://www.adsb.lol), available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0), and Flightradar24. This video is a 3D reconstruction based on public flight data and news reports. It is not real footage. The pilot's radio call is read by our narrator, as quoted by AP and CNN. Our thoughts are with the families of the nine people who died. #PlaneCrash #Aviation #NTSB