Three Families Whose Homes Were Hit by the N722BD Learjet 60 Crash in Greenacres Hire a Lawyer as the NTSB Probe Continues

Three families whose mobile homes were among the closest to the November 1 crash of the N722BD Learjet 60 near Greenacres, Florida, have hired a West Palm Beach law firm, The Palm Beach Post reported on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Their attorney, Mariano Garcia of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, said no lawsuit had been filed as of November 13.

The business jet crashed onto Military Trail on a flight from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas, killing all nine people aboard. No one on the ground was killed, the Post reported.

What the families’ lawyer says happened to them

Garcia told the Post that all three families lived in Green Acres Mobile Estates, near where Military Trail meets Cresthaven Boulevard. Two have been allowed back onto their properties, but the Post reported that the damage has left their homes unlivable.

County officials judged the home of the third family, a household of eight, unsafe, the Post reported. Debris and pieces of the aircraft punched holes through walls and roofs, and chunks of asphalt from the road landed across the neighborhood.

Seven members of that family were at home when the jet hit, Garcia said, including parents on the front porch with a 1-year-old. Catholic Charities placed them in temporary lodging that they must leave on Monday, November 16, and he said they may have to split up if they cannot find a place large enough for all eight.

At another of the homes, debris tore a hole in the roof that let rain in, and the power was cut, Garcia said. In a statement dated November 13, he said his clients “deserve answers” about what led to the crash, and that the firm intends to investigate and “pursue accountability on their behalf.”

The families are still weighing their legal options, and the Post reported that the firm plans to look into the cause of the crash while it waits for the NTSB to finish, and that the families are watching most closely for what the cockpit voice recorder reveals.

Not the first lawyers in this case

They are not the first people on the ground to hire counsel. On November 6, Ricardo Martinez-Cid of the Miami firm Podhurst Orseck told WPTV he represents a family whose home was damaged and whose food truck, their income, was lost.

Members of that family were injured and taken to the hospital, he said. He declined to identify them, and he also did not name a party they might sue.

The same day, AVweb reported, citing Miami station WPLG, that the father of co-pilot Nathalia Filgueiras had retained a Coral Gables law firm. AVweb noted that a court filing had not been independently confirmed.

Why lawyers run their own investigation

The reason is written into federal law. Under 49 U.S.C. 1154(b), no part of an NTSB report on an accident may be admitted into evidence or used in a civil action for damages resulting from a matter the report covers.

Martinez-Cid made the same point to WPTV: the NTSB process can be slow, and its conclusions cannot be used in court. So his firm plans to have its own aviation experts analyze the radio calls, the weather and how the aircraft performed.

The official probe is closed to them, too. NTSB rules say no party representative in an investigation may hold a legal position or also represent claimants or insurers.

The NTSB said on November 9 it had recovered the voice recorder, but federal law bars the agency from releasing the audio. Courts also may not order the recording handed over in a lawsuit, except under narrow conditions in section 1154(a).

Garcia also told the Post the families could seek compensation under the Montreal Convention of 1999.

That treaty’s liability article is written around passengers: it makes the carrier liable for a passenger’s death or injury from an accident on board or while boarding or leaving the aircraft. The Post’s report does not say how it would apply to people on the ground.

Where the investigation and recovery stand

The NTSB’s most recent update on its investigation page, at the time of writing, is the November 9 entry on the recorder, which also said the crater dig was complete. A day earlier the agency said it had finished most on-scene work and sent parts to its Washington labs.

The cause has not been determined, and no preliminary report has been published yet. The NTSB’s page gives no date for it; on other major cases the agency says to expect one within about 30 days of an accident.

On November 9, as county fire rescue crews pulled out of the site, Palm Beach County said mobile home residents could return, with help finding temporary housing for those who could not.

The county has also waived eligible building permit fees for six months for repairs from the crash or recent flooding, for properties in unincorporated Palm Beach County. A separate grant program offers businesses and nonprofits along a mapped stretch of Military Trail up to $5,000, with applications opening November 12.

The NTSB is still asking anyone who picked up debris not to keep, move or discard it, and to email [email protected], with a photo if possible, so the wreckage can be recovered.