Lear crash in Palm Beach County is fifth fatal U.S. charter jet accident since 2010

A Lear 60 that crashed on Sunday in Palm Beach County, Florida, killed nine people and became just the fifth fatal U.S. business jet charter accident since 2010, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons.

The aircraft, registered as N722DB and operating under a Part 135 charter certificate for Aurora Aviation Inc., a Fort Lauderdale-based operator that does business as Upper Jets, departed Austin, Texas, bound for the Bahamas when the accident occurred. The co-pilot reported that the aircraft was experiencing icing before declaring an emergency.

A rare event in U.S. charter aviation

The five fatal Part 135 charter accidents involving U.S.-registered business jets since 2010 span multiple aircraft types and operators. A Learjet 25 crashed in 2012 on a flight between Monterrey and Toluca, Mexico. In 2015, a Hawker 700A crashed after departing Akron Regional Airport. A Falcon 50 ran off the runway in South Carolina in 2018. A Bombardier Challenger 604 crashed onto Interstate 75 near Naples, Florida, in February 2024.

Private Jet Card Comparisons' count excludes turboprop, piston, and rotorcraft aircraft, as well as air ambulances, cargo charters, and Part 91 non-commercial flights. It covers only passenger private jet charter flights.

Fractional programs show different safety profile

A June crash of a NetJets Citation Latitude on approach at El Paso, Texas, operated as a Part 91K fractional flight and was NetJets' first fatal accident. According to an analysis cited by Private Jet Card Comparisons, that crash marked the first fatal business jet accident by a fractional operator since at least 2006.

Historical data from an Aviation International News report covering 2010 through 2020 showed markedly different fatality rates across operating categories. Part 91 operated private jets suffered 32 fatal accidents with 118 deaths. Business turboprops operating under Part 135 saw 15 fatal accidents resulting in 43 deaths, which included cargo, air ambulance, and sightseeing operations. Part 91 business turboprop flights recorded 82 fatal accidents with 239 deaths over the same period.

It remains unclear from available reporting what specific factors contributed to Sunday's crash or whether investigations into that accident are complete.