Residents described shaking homes, flying debris and flames after the aircraft plunged beside a roadway near a mobile home community.
GREENACRES, Fla. — A fiery business jet crash that killed all nine people aboard also upended a Palm Beach County neighborhood Sunday, scattering debris near homes and forcing about 600 residents from a nearby mobile home community while authorities secured the sprawling crash scene.
The Learjet 60 crashed at about 12:50 p.m. near Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. It had left Austin, Texas, and was headed to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Officials said there were no immediate reports of people on the ground being killed or injured, despite the aircraft striking close to homes, vehicles and a heavily traveled road.
People living nearby described a sudden, powerful impact that shook homes before smoke and flames rose from the neighborhood. Resident Anthony Blackmon said he was roughly 500 feet from the crash and that debris struck his house. Another resident, Roger Forcelle, said the aircraft passed over his home with enough force to shake the building before crashing less than a mile away.
The impact tore open the ground near the roadway and left a large crater surrounded by broken pavement and debris. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who visited the area, said the aircraft appeared to come down like a missile. He praised emergency crews for quickly securing an area where fire and scattered wreckage created additional hazards.
The crash effectively cut off access to a nearby mobile home community, creating an immediate shelter problem for hundreds of residents. Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said officials were working to find safe accommodations for about 600 people. The Red Cross was standing by to assist, and local transportation resources were prepared to help move residents as authorities allowed.
Military Trail was closed through the crash area as law enforcement officers, firefighters and federal investigators worked at the scene. Officials warned that the closure could be extended because wreckage and debris had to be documented before the area could be cleared. The disruption also affected nearby facilities, including John I. Leonard High School, which was closed Monday as work continued.
The neighborhood response unfolded as investigators began examining what happened aboard the jet before impact. Air traffic control recordings indicated the crew reported icing, turbulence and precipitation while flying across South Florida. The aircraft later entered a rapid descent and the pilots declared an emergency. Those details are part of the investigation and have not been established as the cause of the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board would lead the investigation. Federal teams were expected to document the debris field, examine the aircraft and review flight information and crew communications. Authorities had not publicly identified the nine people killed as of Monday morning.
For residents around the impact site, the immediate focus remained access to their homes and the reopening of the neighborhood. County officials said those decisions depended in part on when investigators could release portions of the crash scene, while federal authorities continued working to determine why the jet went down.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 2, 2026.