The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said at a press conference on Monday, 2 November 2026, that a Learjet 60 which crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, the previous day may have broken up before hitting the ground. All nine people on board, two flight crew and seven passengers, were killed.

The aircraft, operated by Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jets, under a Part 135 on-demand charter operation, departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas at about 10:37 a.m. Eastern time, bound for North Eleuthera, Bahamas. The crash occurred at approximately 12:51 p.m. Eastern time near Greenacres and Palm Springs, close to the entrance of a mobile home park.

FLIGHT PATH AND FINAL TRANSMISSIONS

At about 12:47 p.m., the crew told air traffic control they were encountering light, clear icing, which they described as manageable, along with moderate turbulence. The aircraft was at 35,000 feet, with altitude deviations of around 700 feet attributed to the turbulence, and the crew reported an outside air temperature of minus 47 degrees Celsius (minus 53 degrees Fahrenheit).

The crew then reported picking up precipitation and requested a climb to 37,000 feet, which air traffic control approved. Less than 30 seconds later, the aircraft transmitted that it was descending, followed by a Mayday call. At about 12:48 p.m., the aircraft transmitted that it was in an overspeed condition and descending, with the remainder of the transmission unintelligible. All nine aboard were lost.

“The weather conditions are a major focus of the investigation,” said NTSB Board Member Tom Chapman. Investigators have not yet confirmed whether the aircraft flew through an active thunderstorm.

EVIDENCE OF IN-FLIGHT BREAKUP

“We do have some evidence that there was some breakup of the aircraft before impact,” Chapman said. “We may find parts of the aircraft some distance away from the actual impact site.” Officials said it was too early to confirm the aircraft’s speed at impact beyond describing it as high.

The crash left a crater by the road, partially filled with water because of severe storms in the area. Officials said the debris field covers roughly half a mile by four tenths of a mile, scattered among ball fields, businesses and residences, with the debris itself described as relatively small. One person, in a vehicle leaving the immediately adjacent area, sustained a leg injury; no other ground injuries were reported.

INVESTIGATION TEAM AND PROCESS

About 20 NTSB investigators arrived at the scene on Sunday evening, with additional staff, including Chapman, arriving on Monday. Timothy Monville, the NTSB’s investigator in charge, said his team includes a drone pilot, systems and structures specialists, a recorder specialist, and specialists from the agency’s Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance, along with IT, public affairs and communications staff. The Federal Aviation Administration, representatives of airframe manufacturer Learjet, and weather and air traffic control experts are also assisting.

Maintenance records indicate a cockpit voice recorder was installed on the aircraft, but investigators do not yet know whether it remained on board. Officials said recovering the major wreckage from the water-filled impact crater on the roadway will be one of the biggest challenges of the on-scene phase, which is expected to take several days.

Officials said they were not aware of any history of this type of accident with this aircraft model, though they had not yet looked into trends specific to this airframe. The NTSB said it will not determine a probable cause while on scene, and will not speculate about the cause of the crash; this is the first stage of what officials described as a lengthy investigative process. The agency is asking anyone with relevant photographs, videos, or other information to contact it at witness@ntsb.gov. 

Note: This article was built from the NTSB’s own press-conference transcript as the primary source; attribution in the question-and-answer portion follows only where the transcript made the speaker clear. WAN will continue to cover this investigation as it develops.