Learjet 60 crash in Palm Beach County, Florida, kills all nine aboard

A private Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach County in southern Florida on November 1, 2026, and all nine people on board were killed, according to US officials cited by several outlets. The Times of Israel reported that the jet had taken off from Austin, Texas, and was heading for the Bahamas when it went down in a neighbourhood in the south of the state.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the crash in a statement as a "horrific tragedy". N12 reported that Duffy confirmed both the aircraft's destination and the death toll. Ynet reported that the plane struck a mobile home and a tree and brought down power lines, and that fire services declared a mass-casualty incident at the scene.

How the plane came down

The Jerusalem Post, citing the Federal Aviation Administration, reported that the jet fell into a rapid dive before the crash, losing 27,000 feet of altitude in under a minute. The Federal Aviation Administration, usually shortened to FAA, is the US government agency that regulates civil aviation and tracks flights in American airspace.

Ynet quoted an eyewitness who said the impact sounded like a missile. Ynet's report also referred to footage of the crater left at the crash site, and two Hebrew-language Telegram news channels, Abu Ali Express and News.co.il, circulated video they described as showing the jet descending sharply and at speed.

Where the crash happened

Palm Beach County lies on Florida's Atlantic coast, in the south-east of the state. The reports describe the exact location in somewhat different terms. Ynet said the plane came down in a trailer park in the Palm Beach area. Abu Ali Express and News.co.il both placed it in a compound of mobile homes in Greenacres, Florida. The Times of Israel's headline referred to a roadside, while its text spoke of a neighbourhood.

Several outlets noted the area's proximity to Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort home of Donald Trump. The Times of Israel pointed out that the estate is in the same county, and Abu Ali Express and News.co.il put the crash site about 15 km from it. None of the reports suggests any connection between the crash and the estate beyond geography.

The aircraft

The Learjet is a long-running line of small business jets used for private and corporate travel. Ynet described this one as an executive jet and put its value at 2 million dollars. The Times of Israel called it a small Learjet, and an early Ynet alert referred to it as a light aircraft. The reports do not name the owner or operator of the jet.

The official response

As Transportation Secretary, Duffy heads the US Department of Transportation, the federal department that includes the FAA. His statement was the main official comment carried in the reports. Beyond the declaration of a mass-casualty incident reported by Ynet, the coverage gives little detail on the emergency response on the ground.

Points where the reports differ

Early reports varied as information emerged. News.co.il, publishing before the toll was confirmed, said the circumstances and the scale of casualties were not yet known. The Jerusalem Post's headline described the nine dead as passengers, while other outlets said nine people were on board, without separating passengers from crew.

The outlets also describe Trump differently. The Times of Israel referred to him as US President, while News.co.il called him a former president. The location, as noted above, is given variously as Palm Beach, Greenacres, a trailer park, a neighbourhood and a roadside.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports identifies any of the nine people killed, or says whether the crew is counted among them. None gives a cause for the rapid descent, and there is no mention of which agency will lead an investigation or of any statement from the aircraft's operator. The reports do not say whether anyone on the ground was hurt, how many homes were damaged, or whether the downed power lines left residents without electricity. The time of the crash and the flight's planned arrival point in the Bahamas are also not given.