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Multiple deaths reported after $2M jet crashes into Florida trailer park leaving huge fiery crater
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Multiple people are dead after a Learjet 60 business jet nosedived into a mobile home park in Palm Beach County, Florida, demolishing at least one home and leaving a massive crater in the road.
The aircraft, a chartered jet valued at approximately $2 million, crashed shortly after 1 PM ET (6 PM UTC) today in Greenacres, a community just outside Palm Springs, Florida, roughly nine miles from Mar-a-Lago.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared the incident a mass casualty event. Military Trail has been closed in both directions between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. The agency described the response as an 'extended incident' and urged people to avoid the area.
What happened
Flight tracking data shows the Learjet 60, registration N722BD, departed Austin, Texas at approximately 10:37 AM ET. The aircraft was operated by LR60271 LLC and was on a chartered flight to the Palm Beach area.
At some point during its approach, the jet entered a rapid descent over West Palm Beach. Video posted to social media shows the aircraft plunging almost vertically before striking the ground at high speed.
It clipped a tree and brought down power lines before slamming into the mobile home park, producing a fireball that witnesses said sounded 'like a missile'. Flames and thick black smoke were visible from miles away. Emergency crews arrived to find burning wreckage, a destroyed mobile home, downed power lines, and a gaping crater in the roadway.
How many people died
Authorities have confirmed 'multiple fatalities' but have not released a specific number. It is not yet known how many people were on board the aircraft. A Learjet 60 can carry up to nine passengers plus two crew.
It is also not confirmed whether anyone on the ground was among the dead. The crash struck a mobile home community where residents were inside their homes on a Sunday afternoon. At least one trailer was completely destroyed in the fireball.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirmed the crash and said the scene is under investigation.
The aircraft
The Learjet 60 is a mid-size business jet manufactured by Bombardier. N722BD was reportedly based in Texas. Sources told local outlet Boca News Now that the aircraft's tail number and flight-tracking data became inaccessible shortly after the crash, which is standard procedure when aviation authorities take over an investigation.
The aircraft was valued at approximately $2 million. It is not yet known who chartered the flight or who was on board.
What happens next
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to investigate the crash. The NTSB typically dispatches a 'go team' to the site of fatal aviation incidents within hours.
The cause of the crash is unknown. The rapid, near-vertical descent visible in the video suggests a catastrophic failure of some kind, but whether that was mechanical, structural, or related to pilot incapacitation cannot be determined until investigators have examined the wreckage and recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
This is a developing story. The number of dead, the identities of those on board, and the cause of the crash have not been confirmed.