A business jet carrying nine people nose-dived into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday and erupted into a giant fireball that appeared to just miss homes near a busy roadway, killing everyone onboard.
Video recorded by people inside their cars captured the terrifying moment the Bahamas-bound aircraft plunged from the sky before striking near the Palm Beach county roadway and exploding. Flames flickered around chunks of pavement lining a crater as people milled about, expressing shock that it landed only feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick black smoke engulfed the crash site.
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy posted on X on Sunday that the Learjet 60 crashed in Palm Beach county at 12.50pm and called it a “horrific tragedy”. The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the cause, he said.
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, said there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground injured or killed. “It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis said. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”
The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom international airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the airport, confirmed it was a private aircraft but did not provide details about who was on the plane.
FAA records list the Bombardier-made Learjet 60’s owner as a Delaware corporation.
The plane was heading east at 35,000 ft (about 11 km) when pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested to climb another 2,000 ft (about 610 metres).
Moments later, the plane entered a steep dive, first 10,000 ft per minute, then 20,000 ft per minute and up to 30,000 ft per minute, speeding the plane beyond its design limits, according to air traffic control recordings and flight tracking data.
A pilot declared an emergency and issued distress calls. The plane banked sharply to the right before it smashed into the ground.
Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the jet and turbulence that was jolting it by as much as 700 feet (213 metres), according to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net.
“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.
But the situation rapidly deteriorated. After encountering precipitation and requesting to climb, the pilot declared an emergency as the aircraft began losing altitude at an alarming rate.
“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday – we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed.
“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot radioed, before delivering a devastating acknowledgment of what was about to happen. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said data showed the vertical descent rate at one point exceeded 32,000 feet (9,750 metres) per minute.
Rain had pounded the region on Sunday, and a flood watch due to excessive rainfall was in effect through Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
The crash occurred near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North. The Palm Beach county sheriff’s office closed roads in both directions and urged motorists to avoid the area. Firefighters and other emergency personnel rushed to the scene.
Palm Beach County authorities were evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community while federal officials investigate the crash.
A woman working nearby said electricity in the area had been out for approximately two hours after the crash.
The circumstances of the crash remained under investigation.
