US-registered business jets killed 125 people between 2016 and 2025, an average of 12.5 a year, and the first 10 months of 2026 added at least 16 deaths in at least three fatal accidents. The latest, a Learjet 60 (N722BD) flying from Austin, Texas to North Eleuthera, Bahamas, crashed in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida on November 1, 2026 and killed all nine people aboard, and the NTSB has not determined a cause.
Business Jet Accidents in the US by Year (2016–2026)
Business Jet Accidents in the US by Year (2016–2026) follow a pattern of rare but severe events. Aviation International News (AIN) counted 125 deaths in US-registered business jet accidents from 2016 through 2025, with a low of zero in 2022 and a high of 24 in 2019. The crash on November 1, 2026 is the third documented fatal US business jet accident of this year and the deadliest, with nine deaths. This report covers fatal accidents by year, the 2026 crashes, and breakdowns by manufacturer, model, flight phase, cause, state, and operation type.
Public data has limits. AIN publishes annual totals for US-registered turbine business jets, and the NTSB database holds the case files, but no public tabulation breaks fatal accidents down by manufacturer, phase, or state. Sections three to seven therefore use a documented sample of 15 fatal accidents from 2020 to 2026 whose details appear in AIN, NTSB, and news reports. The sample is incomplete and labeled as such. Where a figure is an inference or a calculation, the report says so.
Interesting Facts About Business Jet Accidents in the US 2026
| Fact | Data (Period) |
|---|---|
| Deaths, US-registered business jets | 125 (2016 to 2025, AIN) |
| Fatal accidents | At least 33 (2017 to 2025) |
| Deadliest year in the decade | 2019, 24 deaths |
| Year with no fatal accident | 2022 |
| 2025 totals | 4 fatal accidents, 15 deaths |
| 2026 documented to date | At least 3 fatal accidents, 16 deaths |
| Latest crash | November 1, 2026, Learjet 60, 9 killed |
| First fatal fractional-ownership accident | June 16, 2026, NetJets Citation Latitude, 1 killed |
| Aircraft age, Palm Beach Learjet | 22 years |
| Worldwide business jet deaths, 2025 | 57 (2024: 21) |
| Part 91 share of US accidents, all aircraft | 93.45% (2015 to 2024) |
AIN counts fatal accidents of US-registered business jets, anywhere in the world, and its totals are preliminary. The 2026 figures here were compiled for this report from reports on three accidents. AIN’s July report described US business jet deaths in the first half of 2026 as slightly higher than the 8 of the first half of 2025. Bangor (6) and Laredo (1) total 7, so at least one further fatal accident or death in that period is not captured in the sources reviewed, and the true 2026 total is higher than 16.
The numbers also show how concentrated the risk is. Four-fifths of the decade’s deaths (100 of 125) came in five years that each had 15 or more deaths, and a single crash adds 6 to 9 deaths to the annual tally. The three 2026 accidents occurred under three different operating categories, a private flight in Bangor, a fractional flight in Laredo, and a privately owned jet in Palm Beach, so no one segment of the industry stands out.
Business Jet Fatal Accidents and Fatalities by Year
Deaths in US-registered business jet accidents, by year
2016 █████████████ 8
2017 █████ 3
2018 █████████████████ 10
2019 ████████████████████████████████████████ 24
2020 ███████ 4
2021 ██████████████████████████████████████ 23
2022 0
2023 ██████████████████████████████████████ 23
2024 █████████████████████████ 15
2025 █████████████████████████ 15
2026 ███████████████████████████ 16+
| Year | Fatal Accidents | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | n/a | 8 | Accident count not stated in AIN’s summary |
| 2017 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 10 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 24 | All Part 91 |
| 2020 | 1 | 4 | Pandemic year |
| 2021 | 6 | 23 | |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 23 | 5 Part 91 (15 deaths), 1 charter (8) |
| 2024 | 5 | 15 | One charter, Naples, Florida |
| 2025 | 4 | 15 | All Part 91; includes Statesville, North Carolina (7) |
| 2026 (to November 2) | At least 3 | At least 16 | Bangor (6), Laredo (1), Palm Beach (9) |
Data source: Aviation International News annual accident tallies (2018 to 2026) and Business Jet Traveler quarterly data, compiled from NTSB and FAA records; 2026 row compiled from NTSB, FAA, and news reports.
The decade shows two clusters. Deaths reached 24 in 2019 and 23 in both 2021 and 2023, and fell to 0 in 2022 and 4 in 2020. A recovery in flying after the pandemic did not produce a steady rise, and the swings come mostly from a handful of multi-fatality crashes. In 2025, four accidents killed 15 people, and the last one, near Statesville, North Carolina on December 18, killed 7 of them.
The 2026 total already exceeds 2024 and 2025 and can still grow. Three documented accidents carry 16 deaths through November 2, with two months left. AIN will publish a final preliminary count in early January 2027. Until then, the 2026 row is a floor and not an estimate of the final figure, and it includes the Laredo accident, which AIN counts among US-registered fractional operations.
Recent Business Jet Crashes in the US (2026)
Deaths in recent fatal US business jet accidents
Learjet 60, Palm Beach, Nov 1, 2026 ██████████████████ 9
Citation II, Statesville, Dec 18, 2025 ████████████████ 7
Challenger 650, Bangor, Jan 25, 2026 ███████████ 6
Citation Latitude, Laredo, Jun 16, 2026 ████ 1
| Date | Aircraft and Location | Deaths | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1, 2026 | Learjet 60 (N722BD), Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida; Austin, Texas to North Eleuthera, Bahamas | 9 (all aboard) | NTSB investigating; cause not established |
| June 16, 2026 | Cessna Citation Latitude (N523QS), NetJets, Laredo, Texas | 1 killed, 5 injured | NTSB preliminary report: both engines flamed out |
| January 25, 2026 | Bombardier Challenger 650 (N10KJ), Bangor, Maine | 6 (all aboard) | Preliminary report cites delay between deicing and takeoff |
| December 18, 2025 | Cessna Citation II (550), Statesville, North Carolina | 7 (all aboard) | Preliminary report: no evidence of structural failure |
Data source: National Transportation Safety Board preliminary reports (Bangor, Laredo, Statesville); Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Secretary statements (Palm Beach); AIN, CNN, NBC 6, and Austin American-Statesman reporting, November 1 to 2, 2026.
The November 1 crash is the most recent. The 22-year-old Learjet 60, registered to LR60271 LLC, left Austin-Bergstrom at about 15:37 UTC and went down at about 12:50 p.m. Eastern near Military Trail and Cresthaven Boulevard in Greenacres. Pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation and asked to climb another 2,000 feet moments before the crash. Video shows the jet in a steep nose-down dive, and flight tracking reportedly shows a rapid descent from about 35,000 feet. Thunderstorms and gusts of 20 to 30 mph were in the area. CNN reported it is the second-deadliest US crash of 2026 in NTSB records, after a June skydiving plane crash that killed 12.
The other 2026 accidents had different causes. At Bangor on January 25, the Challenger 650 crashed during the takeoff run in a winter storm, and a preliminary report cited the delay between deicing and takeoff. At Laredo on June 16, a NetJets Citation Latitude flying under fractional ownership rules lost power in both engines, landed on Loop 20, and burned. It was the first fatal accident in NetJets history. The NTSB has not issued probable causes for any of the three. A final report normally takes 12 to 24 months.
Business Jet Accidents by Aircraft Manufacturer
Deaths by manufacturer, documented sample of 15 fatal accidents, 2020-2026 (scale: 24 = 40 blocks)
Bombardier (Challenger, Learjet) ████████████████████████████████████████ 24
Cessna / Textron (Citation) █████████████████████████████████████ 22
IAI (Westwind) ████████ 5
Honda Aircraft (HondaJet) ███████ 4
Hawker (Beechcraft) ███ 2
Gulfstream ██ 1
| Manufacturer | Fatal Accidents in Sample | Deaths | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier | 5 | 24 | Learjet 60, Challenger 650, Challenger 605, Challenger 604, Learjet 35A |
| Cessna / Textron | 6 | 22 | Citation 501 (two), Citation II (two), Citation V, Citation Latitude |
| IAI | 1 | 5 | Westwind |
| Honda Aircraft | 1 | 4 (plus 1 on the ground) | HondaJet |
| Hawker (Beechcraft) | 1 | 2 | Hawker 900XP |
| Gulfstream | 1 | 1 | Gulfstream IV (Dominican Republic, 2021) |
| Total | 15 | 58 |
Data source: Documented sample compiled from AIN accident listings (2021 and 2024), NTSB preliminary reports, and news reports on 2025 and 2026 accidents. The sample is not a complete count of US fatal business jet accidents.
Bombardier and Cessna lead the sample, with 24 and 22 deaths in 5 and 6 accidents. That says more about fleet size than about design. Citations and Challengers are among the most numerous business jets in the US fleet, and the sample leaves out accidents whose details are not in the sources reviewed, including two 2021 accidents. No public NTSB tabulation ranks manufacturers by accident rate per flight hour, so a per-aircraft safety comparison cannot be built from these counts.
Age and mission matter as much as manufacturer. The sample includes decades-old designs, the Citation 501, Citation II, Citation V, Westwind, and Hawker 900XP, and also recent models such as the HondaJet and Citation Latitude. Operations range from owner-flown flights to a fractional fleet. Any single manufacturer count rests on a few events, so one more accident changes the ranking.
Business Jet Crashes by Aircraft Model
Deaths by model family in the documented sample, 2020-2026 (scale: 14 = 40 blocks)
Challenger (604, 605, 650) ████████████████████████████████████████ 14
Citation 501 ███████████████████████████████ 11
Learjet 60 ██████████████████████████ 9
Citation II (550) ██████████████████████████ 9
Westwind ██████████████ 5
HondaJet ███████████ 4
| Model | Fatal Accidents | Deaths | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challenger 604, 605, 650 | 3 | 14 | 2021, 2024, 2026 |
| Citation 501 | 2 | 11 | 2020, 2021 |
| Learjet 60 | 1 | 9 | November 1, 2026 |
| Citation II (550) | 2 | 9 | 2024, December 2025 |
| IAI Westwind | 1 | 5 | March 10, 2024 |
| HondaJet | 1 | 4 (plus 1 on the ground) | November 5, 2024 |
| Hawker 900XP | 1 | 2 | February 7, 2024 |
| Learjet 35A | 1 | 1 | February 10, 2025 (Scottsdale) |
| Citation Latitude | 1 | 1 | June 16, 2026 |
| Citation V | 1 | 1 | January 9, 2021 |
| Gulfstream IV | 1 | 1 | May 4, 2021 |
Data source: Documented sample compiled from AIN, NTSB, FAA, and news reports (2020 to 2026). Not a complete count.
The Challenger family has the most deaths in the sample at 14, from three accidents, and the Citation 501 follows at 11 from two. The Learjet 60 has 9 from a single event. Every row rests on one to three accidents, which is too few to rank models by risk. A Learjet 60 and a Challenger carry up to 9 and 10 passengers, so one crash produces more deaths than a Citation V or Learjet 35A with a crew of two.
Bombardier builds the Challenger line in Canada. The Learjet 60 at the center of the November 1 crash was a 22-year-old mid-size jet certified in 1993 with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW305A engines. Age does not establish cause, and the NTSB has not made any finding about the aircraft’s condition.
Business Jet Accidents by Flight Phase
Flight phase in the documented sample of 15 fatal accidents (scale: 6 = 40 blocks)
Not stated in sources reviewed ████████████████████████████████████████ 6
Approach or landing ██████████████████████████ 4
Takeoff or takeoff roll ████████████████████ 3
En route or descent █████████████ 2
| Phase | Accidents | Events |
|---|---|---|
| Takeoff or takeoff roll | 3 | HondaJet (Nov 2024), Citation II (Aug 2024), Challenger 650, Bangor (Jan 2026) |
| Approach or landing | 4 | Challenger 604 (Feb 2024), Westwind (Mar 2024), Learjet 35A, Scottsdale (Feb 2025), Citation Latitude diversion, Laredo (Jun 2026) |
| En route or descent | 2 | Learjet 60 (Nov 2026), Citation 501 in-flight breakup (Feb 2020) |
| Not stated | 6 | Citation V, Gulfstream IV, Citation 501 (2021), Challenger 605, Hawker 900XP, Statesville Citation II |
| Runway excursions | Most common accident type | AIN and BJT safety reviews |
Data source: Documented sample compiled from AIN, Business Jet Traveler, and NTSB reports. Phase assignments follow the sources; “not stated” means the sources reviewed did not give a phase.
Where the phase is known, fatal accidents cluster at takeoff and landing: seven of nine. The Bangor crash occurred during the takeoff roll, the Laredo crash after engine failure on a diversion, and the Scottsdale crash on landing. Two accidents occurred en route. The Learjet 60 was at cruise altitude before the descent that ended in Greenacres. Six of the 15 have no phase stated in the sources reviewed, so the split is a lower bound and not a full distribution.
BJT’s safety reviews say runway excursions are the most common accident type among business jets overall, though most excursions do not kill anyone. A 2010 to 2016 BJT study found the worst years for jet fatal accidents were 2012 (31 deaths, six accidents) and 2014 (30 deaths, six accidents). Takeoff and landing are the busiest phases for any flight, so a high share of accidents there is expected. Phase counts alone do not show whether any phase carries more risk per operation.
Leading Causes of Business Jet Accidents
Documented causes in selected fatal US jet accidents, 2014-2026 (scale: 2 = 40 blocks)
Crew procedures and approach handling ████████████████████████████████████████ 2
Engine or power loss ████████████████████████████████████████ 2
Winter operations and deicing delay ████████████████████ 1
Landing gear failure (suspected) ████████████████████ 1
| Accident | Documented Cause or Finding |
|---|---|
| Gulfstream IV, Bedford, Massachusetts, 2014 (7 killed) | Pilots did not check flight controls or disengage the gust lock; history of skipping checklists |
| Hawker 700A, Akron, Ohio, 2015 (9 killed, Part 135) | Stall on a non-precision approach after descending below minimum altitude |
| Challenger 604, Naples, Florida, 2024 (2 killed) | Dual engine failure; highway landing attempt |
| Learjet 35A, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2025 (1 killed) | Suspected landing gear failure; veered into a parked Gulfstream |
| Cessna Citation II, Statesville, 2025 (7 killed) | Preliminary report: no evidence of structural failure; under investigation |
| Challenger 650, Bangor, 2026 (6 killed) | Preliminary report cites a delay between deicing and takeoff |
| Citation Latitude, Laredo, 2026 (1 killed) | NTSB preliminary: both engines flamed out after multiple system messages; investigation open |
| Learjet 60, Palm Beach County, 2026 (9 killed) | Not established; pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation |
Data source: National Transportation Safety Board reports and preliminary findings; Business Jet Traveler study of 2010 to 2016 jet accidents; AIN reporting. Preliminary reports do not contain findings or probable cause.
Crew procedures appear in the oldest cases. The NTSB found that the Bedford pilots had a history of skipping checklists, and that the Akron crew descended below minimums and stalled. Both were airplanes that were mechanically sound. The more recent cases show engine and power loss, in Naples and Laredo, and winter operations at Bangor. Cause statements for Palm Beach and Statesville do not exist yet. Preliminary reports describe facts and not probable cause, and final reports take 12 to 24 months.
No public statistic ranks causes for business jets alone. NTSB data show that general aviation accidents commonly involve loss of control and procedural errors, but those figures include small piston planes. For jets, the documented cases suggest that no single cause dominates. They also suggest that the final causes often combine weather, aircraft condition, and crew decisions. Readers should treat any cause attributed to the Palm Beach crash before the NTSB reports as speculation.
Business Jet Accidents by US State
Deaths by state, documented fatal accidents with verified locations, 2024-2026 (scale: 11 = 40 blocks)
Florida ████████████████████████████████████████ 11
North Carolina █████████████████████████ 7
Maine ██████████████████████ 6
Texas ████ 1
Arizona ████ 1
| State | Documented Accident | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Greenacres (Palm Beach County), November 2026 (9); Naples, February 2024 (2) | 11 |
| North Carolina | Statesville, December 2025 | 7 |
| Maine | Bangor, January 2026 | 6 |
| Texas | Laredo, June 2026 | 1 |
| Arizona | Scottsdale, February 2025 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, January 2025 (Mexico-registered air ambulance Learjet 55) | 6 aboard plus 1 to 2 on the ground |
Data source: Documented sample compiled from NTSB, FAA, AIN, and news reports (2024 to 2026). No public source tabulates US business jet fatal accidents by state; counts cover only accidents with a verified location in the sources reviewed.
Florida leads this sample with 11 deaths from two accidents, Naples in 2024 and Greenacres in 2026. The state hosts heavy private jet traffic: Florida recorded more than 7,500 private jet departures in one week of January 2026, according to a flight activity analysis. Counts by state in the sample are small, and each state has one or two events, so the table cannot support a risk ranking. A state with the most accidents is usually the state with the most flights.
Where accidents occur matters for people on the ground as well. The Learjet 60 struck a road next to a mobile home community in Greenacres, and the NTSB and local officials evacuated nearby residents. The 2025 Philadelphia crash killed people on the ground, and the HondaJet that crashed in November 2024 killed one person on the ground. Business jet accidents near airports in dense areas carry a risk to bystanders that a remote crash does not.
Private Business Jets vs Charter Business Jets
Fatal US business jet accidents by operation type, 2010-2020 (scale: 31 = 40 blocks)
Part 91 private flights ████████████████████████████████████████ 31
Part 135 charter ████ 3
Part 91K fractional 0
| Operation Type | Fatal Accidents | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Part 91 (private) | 31 | 114 deaths, 2010 to 2020 |
| Part 135 (charter, jet card) | 3 | 2011 to 2020; Akron (2015) killed 9 |
| Part 91K (fractional) | 0 until 2026 | None since AIN tracking began in 2006; Laredo, June 16, 2026, killed 1 |
| 2023 | 5 Part 91, 1 charter | 15 and 8 deaths |
| 2024 | 4 Part 91, 1 charter | Naples charter, 2 killed |
| 2025 | 4 Part 91 | 15 deaths |
| 2026 | Bangor and Palm Beach private; Laredo fractional | 16 deaths to date |
| Charter and fractional flights per week, US | 38,000 to 57,000 | WingX data |
| US millionaires | About 24 million | 2026 |
Data source: Aviation International News safety analyses (2023, 2024, and June 2026); Business Jet Traveler; WingX flight data cited by AIN; theworlddata.com millionaire statistics.
Private flights account for most fatal accidents. From 2010 through 2020, Part 91 jets had 31 fatal accidents against 3 for charter jets. Fractional operators held a clean record from 2006 until June 16, 2026, when the Laredo crash became the first fatal fractional accident AIN had recorded. The Palm Beach Learjet was privately owned, registered to a Delaware company, and flown as a private flight. Part 91 allows owners to hire crews and fly without the operating certificate that charter operators need.
The segments differ in training, oversight, and fleet age. Charter and fractional operators carry commercial certificates, with required crew checks and maintenance programs, which explains part of the safety gap. The base of potential private owners is large: about 24 million Americans are millionaires. The 2026 record shows that a clean record can end, as Laredo did for fractionals, and that most deaths still occur on private flights.
Business Jet Accident Rates and Safety Statistics
Worldwide business aviation fatalities by aircraft class, 2025 (scale: 86 = 40 blocks)
Turboprops ████████████████████████████████████████ 86
Business jets ██████████████████████████ 57
US-registered jets ███████ 15
| Metric | Value (Period) |
|---|---|
| Business aviation accidents, worldwide | 104 (2025), up 15.6% |
| Fatal accidents, worldwide | 35 (13 jets), up 29.6% |
| Deaths, worldwide | 143 (2025), worst since 156 in 2011 |
| Business jet deaths, worldwide | 57 (2025); 21 (2024); 32 (2023) |
| Worldwide bizjet fatalities, first nine months 2026 | Down 41%; accidents up 24% (AIN, October 9) |
| General aviation fatal accident rate | 1.029 per 100,000 hours (2018) |
| Business jet fatal accident rate (industry estimate) | About 0.1 to 0.3 per 100,000 hours |
| Part 91 accidents, all aircraft | 11,082 (2015 to 2024), 93.45% of Parts 91, 121, 135 |
| US business jets in service | About 14,632 of 24,270 worldwide |
| Global business jet departures, first half of 2026 | About 1.95 million, up 4% |
Data source: Aviation International News year-end and quarterly analyses (January 2026 to October 2026); National Transportation Safety Board data as analyzed by Kryder Law Group (2026); industry fleet and departure estimates from Flycraft and Paramount Business Jets.
Worldwide business aviation had its worst year since 2011 in 2025, with 143 deaths, and business jet deaths rose from 21 to 57. US jets stayed flat at 15. The first nine months of 2026 show fewer worldwide jet deaths and more accidents, which means a larger number of less deadly events. The US fleet of about 14,632 jets flew into a market where global departures were about 35% above 2019, so exposure keeps growing.
Rates are hard to pin down. The general aviation fatal accident rate was 1.029 per 100,000 hours in 2018. Industry estimates put business jets at about 0.1 to 0.3, which is a fraction of that, but those estimates come from broker and trade sources and not from NTSB tables. Part 91 flying of all aircraft types accounts for 93.45% of US accidents among the three categories.
Deadliest Business Jet Crashes in US History
Deaths in the deadliest documented US business jet crashes (scale: 9 = 40 blocks)
Learjet 60, Greenacres, FL (2026) ████████████████████████████████████████ 9
Hawker 700A, Akron, OH (2015) ████████████████████████████████████████ 9
Hawker 800, Owatonna, MN (2008) ███████████████████████████████████ 8
Gulfstream IV, Bedford, MA (2014) ███████████████████████████████ 7
Citation II, Statesville, NC (2025) ███████████████████████████████ 7
Citation 501 (2021) ███████████████████████████████ 7
Challenger 650, Bangor, ME (2026) ███████████████████████████ 6
| Crash | Aircraft | Deaths | Operation and Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1, 2026, Greenacres, Florida | Learjet 60 | 9 | Private flight; cause not established |
| November 10, 2015, Akron, Ohio | Hawker 700A | 9 | Part 135 charter; stall on non-precision approach |
| July 31, 2008, Owatonna, Minnesota | Hawker 800 | 8 | Charter; collided with runway equipment on go-around |
| May 31, 2014, Bedford, Massachusetts | Gulfstream IV | 7 | Part 91; gust lock left engaged |
| December 18, 2025, Statesville, North Carolina | Citation II | 7 | Under investigation |
| May 29, 2021 | Citation 501 | 7 | Operation type not stated in the AIN list excerpt |
| January 25, 2026, Bangor, Maine | Challenger 650 | 6 | Part 91; deicing delay cited in preliminary report |
| July 26, 2021 | Challenger 605 | 6 | Operation type not stated in the AIN list excerpt |
Data source: National Transportation Safety Board (Execuflight Flight 1526 report AAR-16/03); Business Jet Traveler; AIN accident listings; Wikipedia list of fatal commercial aviation accidents in the United States; news reports for 2026.
The Palm Beach crash is tied for the deadliest US business jet accident in this documented list, matching the nine deaths at Akron in 2015. That ranking has limits. A full historical ranking requires the NTSB database, and this report did not query it, so earlier crashes that the sources reviewed did not mention could exceed nine. The 2026 crash ranks second on a different list: CNN reported it as the second-deadliest US aviation crash of 2026 in NTSB records, after the 12 deaths in a June skydiving plane crash in Missouri.
Three of the eight, Bedford, Akron, and Bangor, happened on takeoff or approach, and the NTSB attributed the 2014 Bedford and 2015 Akron crashes to crew actions. The Learjet 60 fell from cruise altitude, which sets Palm Beach apart from the others. Whether it leads to any regulatory action depends on the NTSB’s findings, which will take months.
Frequently Asked Questions About Business Jet Accidents in the US
How many business jet accidents happen in the US each year?
US-registered business jets have had 0 to 6 fatal accidents a year since 2016. AIN counted 4 in 2025, and there were at least 3 in 2026 through November 2.
How many people died in business jet crashes in 2025?
15 people died in 4 fatal accidents of US-registered business jets in 2025, according to AIN. The last was the December 18 crash near Statesville, North Carolina.
How many people have died in business jet crashes in 2026?
At least 16 in at least 3 accidents through November 2: 6 at Bangor, 1 at Laredo, and 9 at Greenacres, Florida. AIN’s final 2026 count will not be available until January 2027.
What happened in the November 1, 2026 Learjet 60 crash?
A Learjet 60 (N722BD) flying from Austin, Texas to North Eleuthera, Bahamas crashed in Greenacres, Palm Beach County, Florida at about 12:50 p.m. ET on November 1, 2026. All nine people aboard died. The NTSB is investigating and has not determined a cause.
What caused the Palm Beach Learjet crash?
The cause has not been established. Pilots reported turbulence, icing, and precipitation before the crash, and tracking data show a rapid descent. The NTSB will issue a preliminary report within about 30 days and a final report in 12 to 24 months.
How old was the Learjet that crashed in Florida?
The Learjet 60 was 22 years old, according to reports. The model was certified by the FAA in 1993.
Which business jets crash most often?
The documented sample of fatal accidents from 2020 to 2026 includes Bombardier aircraft (5 accidents) and Cessna Citations (6), the two most numerous US jet families. No public data ranks models by accident rate per flight hour.
Which US state has the most business jet accidents?
No public source ranks states. In the documented sample, Florida had 11 deaths from two accidents (2024 and 2026), North Carolina 7, and Maine 6.
Are charter jets safer than private jets?
Yes, on the record. Part 91 private flights had 31 fatal US jet accidents from 2010 to 2020 against 3 for charter. Fractional operators had no fatal accident from 2006 until the NetJets crash at Laredo on June 16, 2026.
What was the first fatal fractional jet accident?
The NetJets Citation Latitude (N523QS) crash on Loop 20 in Laredo, Texas on June 16, 2026 killed 1 of 6 aboard, and AIN called it the first fractional fatality it had recorded. The NTSB preliminary report found both engines flamed out.
What is the deadliest business jet crash in US history?
The November 2026 Palm Beach crash (9 killed) ties the 2015 Akron, Ohio Hawker 700A crash (9 killed) in the documented list in this report. A complete historical ranking requires the NTSB database.
How rare are business jet crashes?
Rare. US business jets have had at most 6 fatal accidents in a year since 2016, and industry estimates put the fatal accident rate at about 0.1 to 0.3 per 100,000 hours, well below the 1.029 for general aviation overall.
How can I find the latest NTSB information on a business jet crash?
The NTSB publishes preliminary reports about 30 days after an accident and final reports after 12 to 24 months on its investigations website, under the accident’s identification number.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
