A Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach after reporting ice and turbulence

A Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, after an in-flight emergency. Communications with air traffic control record the crew's warnings in the run-up to the accident, when the situation quickly escalated. The messages include reports of ice and turbulence, as well as an accelerated loss of altitude.

The aircraft had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas bound for the Bahamas. That route identifies the planned route before the accident in Palm Beach and locates the radio exchanges within the flight that ended in Florida. The warnings about weather conditions and the descent of the aircraft correspond to that section, according to the sequence of communications.

At first, the conversation between the crew and controllers addressed weather conditions. Afterward, the exchange focused on the problems facing the plane: ice accumulation and turbulence were mentioned, while the descent became faster. The sequence shows the passage from a conversation about the weather to reports related to an ongoing emergency.

During the last few seconds, the pilot warned, "We're going to crash to the ground!" The "Mayday" warning also appears in the sequence, and the controller tried to maintain communication and offer assistance. Interventions from both sides were recorded as the aircraft rapidly lost altitude. The warning conveyed the seriousness perceived by the crew in the face of the deteriorating situation.

The communications trace a temporal order between weather reports, warnings about airplane conditions and the crew alarm. The accelerated loss of altitude occurred during that emergency, before the Learjet crashed in Palm Beach. The radio exchange picks up both messages sent from the aircraft and the controller's attempts to sustain contact in the final leg of the flight.