Witnesses to the deadly Learjet crash in Palm Beach County, Florida, have described a horrifying aftermath, with human remains and aircraft debris scattered across a vast area after the $2 million private jet slammed into the ground. All nine people aboard were killed, and the force of the impact left a deep crater beside a six-lane road near a mobile home park.
Residents living close to the crash site were left stunned by the explosion. Some were later evacuated from their homes overnight as authorities secured the area and began investigating the wreckage.
Anthony Blackmon, an 18-year-old high school student who lives less than 100 yards from where the aircraft came down, told The Post that the blast was so powerful he initially thought his neighbourhood had been bombed.
“We didn’t really see debris of a plane, but we did find body parts,” he said.
Blackmon described finding what appeared to be a backbone, as well as a photograph showing a hand. He said the aircraft seemed to have disintegrated almost completely, leaving only small fragments rather than large sections of the plane.
The crater left by the Learjet crash in Greenacres, Fla. seen on Nov. 2, 2026.USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Witnesses Describe the Horrific Aftermath
The scale of the destruction was also evident in footage recorded after the crash. A video appeared to show bloody human remains scattered across a vehicle, while a woman could be heard speaking in Spanish: “There are bones on the roof.”
The aircraft struck the road at tremendous speed, leaving a large crater and tearing up substantial sections of asphalt. The impact also appears to have damaged an underground water main, allowing water to flow into the crater.
Photographs from above showed debris scattered across nearby roads and grassy residential areas, illustrating the extent of the destruction.
Investigators have also said there are early indications that the Learjet may have begun breaking apart while still descending, before it hit the ground.
Investigators at the scene of the Learjet crash on Monday.USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Two Friends Witnessed the Plane Come Down
Erick Horta, 36, and Andy Gonzalez, 37, were stopped at a red light on Military Trail when they saw the aircraft crash nearby.
Horta, a Home Depot employee from Miami, initially struggled to understand what he was witnessing.
“At first I thought it was a meteor; we didn’t realize it was a plane,” he told The Post.
Nine people aboard the plane were killed in the crash.USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The two friends rushed toward the scene, hoping they might be able to help. Instead, they encountered a huge crater, a strong smell of gasoline and emergency personnel moving people away from the area.
“We rushed up there to see if we could help and there was a huge crater in the ground. It was shocking. There was a strong smell of gasoline and the police came and cleared everyone away,” Horta recalled.
Gonzalez, a landscaper from West Palm Beach, also described the damage caused by the explosion. He said he went into a woman’s home to help after the blast knocked lights from her ceiling.
“There were human remains on top of cars from the people who were killed,” he said.
Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, 20, was the co-pilot on the Learjet flight.Threads/Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras
NTSB Faces Difficult Investigation at Crash Site
At a news conference on Monday afternoon, National Transportation Safety Board officials said the investigation would take time because of the scale of the wreckage and the conditions at the scene.
Debris was spread across an area measuring approximately half a mile by four-tenths of a mile. Investigators were also waiting for water to drain from the crater before they could continue examining parts of the impact site.
The cause of the crash has not yet been established.
Young Co-Pilot Among the Nine Victims
The aircraft’s co-pilot was identified as 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras, a native of Palm Beach County. Her frightened voice can reportedly be heard in the final cockpit audio released in connection with the crash.
The Learjet 60 had been carrying nine people when it plunged toward the residential neighbourhood on Sunday, November 1. No one aboard survived.
As investigators work to establish what happened during the aircraft’s final moments, residents and witnesses are left with memories of an explosion that devastated their neighbourhood and a crash site unlike anything they had ever seen.