What the NTSB has found about the Learjet 60 crash
A Bombardier Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on 1 November, killing all nine people on board. The NTSB says it was a Part 135 charter flight operated by Aurora Aviation, doing business as Upper Jets. The crew reported light ice and moderate turbulence at 35,000 feet before declaring an emergency.
At the final on-site media briefing, NTSB member Thomas Chapman confirmed that the aircraft’s left elevator separated before impact. It was recovered in three pieces, miles from the main crash site. Investigators have not yet established whether losing the elevator caused the loss of control, or whether it was torn off when the jet went into an overspeed condition with a descent rate above 30,000 feet per minute. With storms in the area at the time, Chapman said weather is a key focus of the investigation.
FAA records reviewed by AIN show the captain held an airline transport pilot certificate with an unrestricted Learjet 60 type rating. The first officer held a commercial pilot certificate with a Learjet 60 type rating subject to pilot-in-command limitations, which means she had to fly with a fully rated captain, as she was. The cause of the accident has not been determined.
Why private jet charter safety is now a client question
Business Insider reports that the crash has some wealthy travellers publicly reconsidering private flying. The tech investor Jason Calacanis wrote on X that he would never board a Learjet 60 again and would fly commercial instead, and others replied in the same vein.
The numbers behind that worry are real but need context. Business Insider cites NTSB data showing on-demand charter aeroplanes were involved in two fatal accidents in 2024, or 0.06 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours, while scheduled airlines recorded none that year. The charter category in those figures covers everything from small piston aircraft to large-cabin jets, so it is not a like-for-like measure of a well-run jet operator.
For anyone who flies privately, the honest takeaway is that charter is safe but not uniformly safe. The spread between the best and the weakest operators matters far more than the type of aircraft or whether the trip is private or commercial.
The broker’s view: choose who flies you
My view, and it is an opinion, is that walking away from private aviation is the wrong response. The right response is to buy it properly. In my years of arranging flights, I have rarely seen a client ask who actually operates the aircraft. After this week, every client should.
First, know the operator, not just the seller. A broker, a jet card company or an app is often not the airline. Ask whose air operator certificate the flight runs under (Part 135 in the US, an AOC under EASA rules in Europe), and check that the specific aircraft is listed on it. If the name on your contract and the name on the certificate differ, you should know why.
Second, ask for independent audits. Ratings such as ARGUS, Wyvern and IS-BAO are not a guarantee, but they show an operator has opened its manuals, training records and safety management to an outside auditor. I would not put a family on an aircraft from an operator that cannot show one, and I say more about how to read them in our guide to private jet safety ratings.
Third, ask about the crew, politely but directly. Two pilots, both current on type, with sensible duty times and a captain with real hours on that model. A good operator answers these questions without fuss.
Fourth, respect the weather call. Winter is arriving in Europe and North America, and with it icing and convective weather. A crew that delays, reroutes or refuses a flight is doing its job. The most dangerous passenger is the one who pushes for an on-time departure into bad weather. If your schedule cannot absorb a delay, build in a buffer or a backup plan, not pressure.
Fifth, be wary of the lowest quote. The cheapest offer is sometimes the cheapest for a reason: an older airframe, a thin crew roster or an operator stretched to win business. A few thousand euros between two quotes is not worth saving if one of them comes with questions you cannot get answered.
For owners, the message is the same from the other side. Clients will ask harder questions this winter, and operators who can answer them clearly will win the trips. For travellers, my advice is simple: keep flying privately if it serves you, but choose who flies you as carefully as you choose the destination.
This briefing is a market summary compiled from the cited public sources. It is not investment, legal or operational advice; figures are as reported by those sources.
