All nine on board Learjet killed in Florida plane crash near Trump's resort home

By Gavin Blackburn Published on 2 November 2026 - 8:30 GMT+1 Share Comments Add Euronews on Google Share Facebook Twitter Flipboard Send Reddit Linkedin Messenger Telegram VK Bluesky Threads Whatsapp The crash occurred near Cresthaven, a neighbourhood in Palm Beach County that is less than 11 kilometres from Trump's resort home Mar-a-Lago. A Learjet plummeted into a neighbourhood in southern Florida miles from US President Donald Trump's resort home on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, officials said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Several unverified clips posted to social media depicting the deadly crash showed an aircraft nearly vertical slamming at high speed into the ground, creating a large fireball and leaving a flaming crater near a busy roadside. "Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement, confirming that all nine people on the aircraft were killed. Duffy said the plane, a Learjet 60, had departed from Austin, Texas and was headed for the Bahamas. The crash occurred near Cresthaven, a neighbourhood in Palm Beach County that is less than 11 kilometres from Trump's resort home Mar-a-Lago. "Obviously this is a cataclysmic plane crash," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters near the scene. "It looked like a missile going down," he said, adding there were no reports of anyone on the ground being injured. Law enforcement respond to a plane crash in Palm Beach County, 1 November, 2026 AP Photo Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday but departed from the nearby and newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport shortly after he boarded Air Force One at 11:55 am (1755 CET), about an hour before the Learjet crash. The plane came down near the entrance to a mobile home park, Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said, noting about 600 residents were evacuated and relocated to shelters. "The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate" the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. Storms had been reported in the area. Trump carried an umbrella as he boarded Air Force One. In an audio recording posted to air traffic website liveatc.net, someone in the cockpit can be heard reporting "moderate turbulence" and saying the crew was "managing the ice." US President Donald Trump covered by an umbrella boards Air Force One in West Palm Beach, 1 November, 2026 AP Photo The person said the plane was "picking up precipitation" and needed "to climb" shortly before saying: "Mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute." Seconds later, the person said they were "declaring an emergency" as the plane descended 20,000 feet per minute. "We're going to crash into the ground," the person said, shortly before communications stopped. Go to accessibility shortcuts Share Comments Add Euronews on Google Read more 13 dead after Nazca Lines tourist flight crashes in Peru Eleven killed in France as parachute training aircraft crashes near Nancy Small plane crashes into Beijing's tallest building Police Plane crash United States Florida Comments