Learjet 60 Nosedives Into Greenacres Mobile Home Park, Killing All Nine Aboard in Fiery Impact

GREENACRES, Fla. - A Learjet 60 carrying nine people plunged from the sky in a steep, high-speed dive and exploded in a massive fireball on impact in a mobile home park near West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon. The incident was captured in dramatic dashcam video, and air traffic control audio has circulated widely showing the crew's final, panicked transmissions.

The aircraft, registered N722BD, had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas earlier in the day bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Flight-tracking data showed it climbed to a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet before beginning a descent near Naples. Shortly afterward, it entered a steep right-hand descent with a vertical speed exceeding 30,000 feet per minute (some tracking sources recorded peaks above 32,000 fpm). The last reported altitude was around 8,750 feet before contact was lost. The jet had briefly climbed after a request for a higher altitude amid reported light icing, moderate turbulence, and precipitation in an area with convective activity.

Learjet Fiery Crash Caught on Dashcam Video in Palm Beach, Fla.

Around 12:50 p.m. local time, the twin-engine business jet slammed into a residential area along South Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North in Greenacres. Dashcam footage circulating online shows the sudden eruption of a huge fireball on a wet roadway lined with power lines and buildings under overcast skies. The impact demolished at least one mobile home, downed power lines, gouged a large crater, and scattered flaming wreckage and debris across the neighborhood. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described it as looking "like a missile going down."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed all nine people aboard were killed, calling it a "horrific tragedy." Palm Beach County Fire Rescue treated the response as a mass-casualty incident; nearby hospitals were placed on alert, though no victims were transported. One person on the ground sustained a minor injury in a nearby vehicle. Approximately 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community were evacuated or displaced. Military Trail was closed in both directions as emergency crews worked the extended scene. Weather conditions at the time included overcast skies, rain, and winds around 15 mph with gusts near 25 mph. The crash site is roughly 7 miles (11 km) west of President Trump's residence, Mar-a-Lago.

In air traffic control audio reviewed by multiple outlets (including BNO News, CNN, and others, drawn from LiveATC-style recordings), a female crew member reported the emergency in real time: "Mayday, Mayday. We're descending 10,000 feet per minute... We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute... We're going to crash into the ground." She later reported descending at 22,000 feet per minute while banking 60 degrees. The transmissions ended with screaming and the words "We're going to die. Holy f*ck, we're out of time" (variations include "Look outside, Jack... Holy f**k, we're out of time"). A controller responded, "I'm here with you, talk to me." The authenticity of the circulating audio has been widely shared but is still under review as the formal investigation begins; the NTSB has not yet released an official transcript.

Captain Jeff Gregory, 55 years old, who can be heard praying in the background of the recording, and the Co-Pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20 years old.

Some observers of the dashcam video and still frames have speculated that the Learjet's horizontal stabilizer (tail stabilizer) appeared to be missing or that the aircraft was incomplete (described by some as diving "like a lawn dart" with apparent missing stabilizer and wing sections) before impact. Aviation site AvBrief noted that a still from the video shows the aircraft appearing to lack its horizontal stabilizer as it hit at high speed. This remains unconfirmed speculation. On Monday, NTSB member Tom Chapman said investigators have "some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact," though they have not yet identified every recovered piece or confirmed whether parts, including portions of the tail, separated in flight. The NTSB investigation is examining the wreckage for any structural failure, weather-related upset, or other factors. No distress calls or specific mechanical issues have been officially confirmed beyond the crew's reported icing, turbulence, precipitation, and overspeed.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board have launched an investigation, with the NTSB leading the inquiry into the cause of the uncontrolled descent. Investigators are on scene. The aircraft, a private business jet (roughly valued in the low millions and registered to a Delaware LLC, LR60271 LLC), is a 2004 Learjet 60 operated by Aurora Airlines (doing business as Upper Jets).

By Monday evening, family members and relatives had identified those aboard. The crew included 55-year-old captain Jeff Gregory and 20-year-old first officer Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras. Passengers included a family of four-Adam Robinson, 45, his wife Helen Sharp, 40, and their children Emma, 2, and Charlie, 4-along with the children's nanny Anita Maria Cetina, and another couple, Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr.

Some observers of the video said that the Learjet's tail stabilizer appeared to be missing before impact.

Authorities continue to process the site, and further details on the precise sequence of events are expected as the investigation proceeds. Icing and turbulence remain a major focus of the NTSB inquiry, which will determine whether weather contributed to a loss of control or any in-flight structural failure.