Business jet crashes into a Florida neighborhood, killing all nine people aboard
A Learjet 60 business jet carrying nine people crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, and everyone aboard was killed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The jet had left Austin, Texas, for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. The cause is not known.
What happened: The jet came down near Military Trail in the Greenacres area, close to the Cresthaven neighborhood, at about 12:50 p.m., the FAA said, according to NBC News and ABC News. Video showed the plane hitting the ground nose-first and bursting into a fireball, leaving a crater near a busy road. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no reports that anyone on the ground was hurt, NBC News reported.
The descent: The plane fell from 35,250 feet to 8,750 feet in a little over a minute, the FAA said, ABC News reported. In air traffic control audio reviewed by Flightradar24, the crew reported icing and moderate turbulence, asked to climb, and then reported descending at a high rate in an overspeed condition. Those recordings describe part of the final minutes; they do not establish a cause.
What is still unknown: The names of the people aboard had not been released, NBC News reported. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the investigation with the FAA, and officials have not said what caused the crash.
Sources
- AP News — Jet nosedives and erupts into fireball near busy roadway in South Florida. All 9 on board died
- NBC News — Jet nose-dived onto Florida roadway in ‘cataclysmic’ crash killing all 9 on board
- ABC News — Learjet with 9 aboard crashes in Palm Beach County, Florida: FAA
- Flightradar24 — Learjet 60 crashes near West Palm Beach, Florida