Was Florida Learjet 60 Crash a Trump Assassination Attempt? Unfounded AI Hacking Rumours Swirl

An online claim that Sunday's Florida Learjet 60 crash was a Trump assassination attempt involving an artificial intelligence (AI) hack spread fast online, yet flight data and radio calls instead show the crew battling hazardous weather before a dive that killed all nine aboard.

The Learjet 60, tail number N722BD, went down near Greenacres in Palm Beach County at around 12:50pm on 1 November, roughly 6 miles (9.6 kilometres) from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The jet had left Austin, Texas, bound for the Bahamas. No cause has been established, and no official has suggested foul play.

The fireball damaged homes and a mobile home park, and officials said about 600 nearby residents were affected, though no one on the ground was reported killed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a 'horrific tragedy', while the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched a go-team with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) support.

The Rumours That Spread Online

That proximity, along with the plane's sudden right turn and near-vertical plunge, lit up social media within hours. Posts on X claimed 'bad actors' had used AI to hack the jet to kill the president, citing its closeness to Mar-a-Lago. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the crash as 'cataclysmic' and said it 'looked like a missile going down', language that fuelled a separate missile-strike theory.

There is no evidence supporting either theory. Trump had left West Palm Beach aboard Air Force One about an hour earlier, and Telemundo reported that the missile claim had been debunked.

What the Flight Data Shows

Tracking data show the jet had climbed to 41,000 feet (12,497 metres) before easing down to 35,000 feet (10,668 metres) near Naples, then briefly climbing again before the steep right turn. 'We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,' the pilot told Miami air traffic controllers, adding that turbulence was jolting the jet by up to 700 feet (213 metres).

Minutes later, the pilot declared a mayday. 'We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet (6,096 metres) per minute,' the pilot said, followed by 'We're going to crash into the ground.'

Why Experts Point To Weather

A stalled frontal boundary pushed freezing cloud tops tens of thousands of feet high, and the jet appears to have passed through a stronger thunderstorm cell before the dive. Dewitt Ingram, a Learjet-rated captain, raised storm damage as a possibility in a CBS12 interview, cautioning nothing has been established.

A pilot assessment shared by Bill Ackman flagged the type's sensitive wing and likely inexperience, concluding the crew probably flew into storms and picked up ice. An overspeed dive from a storm top can leave a crew seconds to react before the airframe exceeds its limits, making recovery difficult.

What Investigators Will Examine

Investigators will study the weather radar, the crew's training and experience, the flight-control systems, and recorded flight data before any conclusion. The NTSB plans a briefing in West Palm Beach as its inquiry begins. The crash is the deadliest involving a Learjet 60 on record, according to Flight Safety Foundation data. For the millions who board charter and business jets each year, it is a sharp reminder of how quickly suspected icing and thunderstorm conditions may overwhelm a crew, with no evidence of hacking.