Learjet Tail Pieces Found Miles From Florida Crash; Cause Still Unknown

Tail-control pieces found miles away

Originally published November 1, 2026. Updated November 3, 2026, 4:41 p.m. Central.

Investigators have identified pieces of a tail-control surface from the Learjet that crashed near Greenacres, Florida, killing all nine people aboard. Most of the left elevator was found in three pieces roughly 1.3 to 3.8 miles from the crash site, National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The elevator helps control the aircraft’s pitch. Chapman said investigators do not yet know whether its loss caused the jet to lose control or resulted from forces on the aircraft during its descent. The cause of the crash remains undetermined.

National Transportation Safety Board member Tom Chapman described the finding at a Monday briefing, while emphasizing that the investigation is in its early stages. Weather will be a major focus, including reports of icing and turbulence from the crew, WFLX reported.

The Learjet 60 crashed Sunday near Greenacres in Palm Beach County. One person on the ground suffered a leg injury, investigator-in-charge Timothy Monville said, according to WFLX. An earlier account from the governor said there were no immediate reports of ground injuries.

The NTSB’s investigation page says the flight was traveling from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The board describes its information as preliminary and subject to change.

Families identify those aboard

Relatives identified 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras among those killed. Her mother told the New York Times and New York Post that Filgueiras was aboard, the Associated Press reported.

According to AP, a statement from the families of the seven passengers identified technology entrepreneur Adam Robinson, his wife Helen Sharp and their two young children, along with Anita Maria Cetina, who helped care for the children, and passengers Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr. The other pilot was later identified as 55-year-old captain Jeff Gregory, according to the Associated Press and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Earlier reporting had not identified those aboard. The passenger identifications came from their families; reporting subsequently identified both pilots.

Nearby residents remain displaced

The jet came down near Military Trail and a mobile home community. AP reported that the crash left a crater and a wide debris field.

About 600 nearby residents remained displaced, AP reported Tuesday. County officials said they could not yet give a timeline for when people could return as investigators worked at the scene.

Monville said a person leaving the area in a vehicle suffered a leg injury, WFLX reported. Check current local alerts for road closures and shelter information.

What investigators know about the flight

At about 12:47 p.m. Eastern Sunday, the crew reported light icing they considered manageable and moderate turbulence, according to WFLX’s account of Chapman’s briefing. The crew then reported precipitation and requested a climb; a mayday call followed as the aircraft descended rapidly.

At Monday’s briefing, Chapman said there was an indication the aircraft was breaking apart before impact; at that point, investigators had not identified all recovered pieces, WFLX reported. On Tuesday he identified the recovered elevator pieces. The AP reported that the discovery confirmed parts separated before impact, while Chapman cautioned that the sequence and cause of the loss of control remain open questions.

Investigators are also checking whether a cockpit voice recorder was aboard. Anyone who finds possible aircraft debris should leave it in place and notify authorities, WFLX reported.

OC Scanner and Local 10, citing flight-tracking information, identified the aircraft as N722BD. The FAA statement previously shared by BNO News did not include a registration number.

Videos and updates on X

Open Source Intel shared two videos that the account says show the aircraft incident. The clips may be distressing. Newstro has not independently authenticated the footage, and the account’s aircraft-registration claim remains preliminary.

Watch the first video posted by Open Source Intel on X

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Watch the second video posted by Open Source Intel on X

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OC Scanner’s post identifies a registration based on preliminary information and estimates the incident’s distance from Mar-a-Lago. Authorities have not confirmed the registration in the FAA statement shared by BNO.

Read OC Scanner’s preliminary update on X

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Noteworthy News also posted video from the reported scene early in the response. Its post says the aircraft type and casualties were unknown at that time; later FAA information reported by BNO identified the aircraft as a Learjet 60; officials subsequently confirmed all nine aboard were killed. The video has not been independently authenticated by Newstro.

View Noteworthy News’s post on X

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WBC24 posted an earlier report from the area:

View WBC24’s earlier post on X

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Where the response is

The response is in the Greenacres area of Palm Beach County. The star marks the approximate city area for context, not a precise impact location. Fire rescue identified the closed portion of Military Trail as the stretch between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North.

Timeline of the crash and response

Times are Eastern. The crash time on November 1 is approximate, according to the FAA.

1. Before the crashPilots reported weather conditions and requested a climb; the crew later declared an emergency during a rapid descent, according to AP’s account of air-traffic-control recordings.
2. About 12:50 p.m.The Bahamas-bound Learjet crashed near Cresthaven, the FAA said, according to Reuters.
3. By 2:41 p.m.The sheriff’s office said the aircraft incident was under investigation and Military Trail was closed between Cresthaven and 10th Avenue North, BocaNewsNow reported.
4. Later SundayTransportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people aboard died. Authorities were evacuating about 600 people from a nearby community, AP reported.
5. November 2Investigators report preliminary signs of a possible pre-impact breakup and say weather is a major focus. WFLX: NTSB briefing
6. November 3Chapman identifies three recovered pieces of the left elevator and says it is too early to determine the cause of the crash, AP reports.

What happens next

The NTSB lists the investigation as ongoing. Its team will examine aircraft systems, structures, weather and air traffic control records, while recovering the main wreckage from the impact crater, according to WFLX.

The board will not establish probable cause while its investigators are working at the scene, Chapman said. It is too early to say whether weather or another factor caused the crash.

Sources and visual credits

AP: November 3 investigation update · Philadelphia Inquirer: captain identified · NTSB investigation · WFLX: investigator briefing · AP: families identify victims · AP: investigation.

Associated Press: crash and investigation · Reuters · Local 10 · BNO News on X: FAA information · Faytuks Network on X · WPTV · BocaNewsNow · OC Scanner on X · Open Source Intel: first video · Open Source Intel: second video · Noteworthy News on X · WBC24 on X · Hindustan Times · Associated Press · OpenStreetMap contributors.

Current hero and thumbnail: generated conceptual editorial illustration, not a photograph of the plane or crash. The previous thumbnail used a user-supplied video still whose source and location Newstro had not independently verified.