What was claimed
A Learjet that crashed in Florida on November 1, 2026, was actually a missile or drone.
Our verdict
False. Flight-tracking data, crash investigators and multiple other sources confirm the incident involved a Learjet aeroplane.
AAP FACTCHECK - Viral footage of a dramatic plane crash in Florida that killed nine people is sparking baseless theories that authorities are covering up a missile or drone attack.
The false claims ignore a mountain of evidence about the tragedy, including flight path data, preliminary crash investigation reports, media reports and public statements from the victims’ families.
The Learjet 60 was travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it came down in a residential area in Palm Beach County on November 1, local time, ABC News reported.
Dashcam footage captured near the crash scene shows the business jet nosediving into the road and exploding on impact.
Seven passengers and two crew members were killed in the incident, which also resulted in a large crater in the road.
Some social media users are questioning whether the crash even happened.
One Australian user says in a November 2 Facebook video that the plane didn’t look big enough in the dashcam footage when compared to the power poles lining the road.
“The plane in reference, the Learjet, is about 13 to 14 metres long,” the user says in a video.
“Now see them power lines next to them? They’re only from seven to nine metres long… So it can’t be a Learjet.
"A Learjet would take up half the bloody road. That’s not taking up half the road. It is a drone or a missile.”
In a November 2 media briefing, livestreamed on YouTube, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokesperson said a Learjet 60 crashed at 12.51pm local time (video mark four seconds).
The spokesperson also said there were indications the aircraft had begun to break up before impact and some parts of the aircraft would likely be found “some distance” away from the crash site (timestamp 14:43).
In a second media briefing on November 3, the NTSB spokesperson confirmed the plane separated before impact (timestamp 4:30) and said “a lot” of small pieces had been found, including inside the crater (timestamp 11:45).
A November 5 update on the NTSB website said excavation work at the crash site had uncovered “a portion of one engine”, and other debris had been found on the roofs of nearby buildings.
The NTSB has not suggested that the object that crashed was anything other than a Learjet 60.
Several frames of the dashcam footage of the crash published online clearly shows an aircraft matching the profile of the Learjet 60, including its distinctive cockpit, fuselage-mounted rear engines and wings (timestamp 0.02).
The Learjet's flight path is also a matter of public record.
Flightradar24, a commercial global flight-tracking service, posted the aircraft's flight path on X, which shows it attempting to avoid a major storm before flying through a smaller storm cell and immediately rapidly descending.
A Flightradar24 article about the crash also includes position and altitude data illustrating the jet’s rapid descent in its final few minutes before impact.
Several media outlets, including CBS News, have published an audio recording of air traffic control speaking to 20-year-old co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras shortly before the crash.
In the recording, Ms Filgueiras can be heard saying the plane was rapidly losing altitude.
Shortly before the crash, Ms Filgueiras tells air traffic control the plane is going to hit the ground.
In 2023, Ms Filgueiras was featured in a local news segment about earning her pilot’s licence at 17.
ABC News (US) reported on November 4 that Ms Filgueiras’s father identified her as being on the plane.
The brother of one of the victims also posted an online statement on behalf of the families of all seven deceased passengers, as reported in the same ABC News article.
Additionally, the former employer of the Learjet’s captain, Jeff Gregory, published a statement saying it was deeply saddened by Mr Gregory’s loss, ABC News reported.
There are no credible reports that the object that crashed was a missile or drone.
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