Pilot reported ice and turbulence before Florida jet crash

ABC News's report adds a pilot's radio message to footage of the Learjet's rapid descent in Palm Beach County.

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ABC News Story of November 2, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of ABC News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 523,405 views.

Private jet crashes in Palm Beach County, Florida, with 9 onboard

"We're managing the ice, but it is moderate turbulence," a pilot says in radio audio included in ABC News's report on the fatal Learjet crash in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The message adds information about conditions encountered during the flight, but does not establish what caused the aircraft to plunge. Dashcam footage shows the jet descending steeply before an explosion near a roadway.

According to ABC, the chartered Learjet 60 left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas on Sunday morning with nine people aboard. It crashed about two hours later, shortly before 1 p.m.

The report shows burning wreckage, debris scattered across Military Trail and flames engulfing a structure in a mobile home park. An emergency dispatch voice describes debris on the property.

Speaking at a briefing, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suggests that the manner of descent points to something happening in the air. That is an inference, not a finding about the cause. Reporting from Lake Worth Beach, ABC correspondent Victor Oquendo says the aircraft fell nearly five miles in just over a minute.

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