Nine dead after private jet plunges into Florida neighborhood

A private jet crashed in a residential area of Palm Springs, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, killing all nine people on board.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the Learjet 60 went down around 12:50 p.m. local time. The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was en route to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

First responders from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department and the county fire department arrived at the scene immediately. Officials stated the impact created a large crater on the side of the road and scattered debris across the neighborhood. Video of the crash showed the plane nose-diving before catching fire and releasing black smoke.

Flight data indicated the aircraft descended at a rate of more than 20,000 feet per minute. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the descent as looking like a missile going down. Investigators are examining reports of severe turbulence and ice accumulation on the aircraft prior to the crash. The pilot reported ice buildup while the outside temperature was -47 degrees Celsius.

Federal officials have not released the names of the other victims. The co-pilot, identified by her mother as Nathalia Gadelha, was 20 years old. Gadelha earned her pilot license at age 17 while attending Boca Raton High School. She began flight lessons in 2020 with funding from her school district’s aviation academy and later graduated from American Flyers Flight School.

Gadelha aimed to become a commercial airline pilot. In a 2023 interview, she noted she had logged 88 flight hours and that she and her boyfriend had earned multiple aviation qualifications before their 21st birthdays. No injuries were reported among people on the ground during the incident.