A Learjet crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people aboard, US transportation officials said.
The private jet departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, travelling to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
The aircraft struck the ground near a road in Lake Worth Beach and exploded, footage circulating on social media showed.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressed the crash at a press conference near the site, describing the incident as a tragedy. Referring to footage of the crash, he said that the aircraft appeared to come down “like a missile”, followed by an explosion that scattered debris across the area.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation into the incident, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also described it as a “horrific tragedy”.
FAA records identified the owner of the Bombardier-made Learjet 60 as a Delaware corporation. Canada-based aircraft manufacturer Bombardier said that it will support the investigation and cooperate with authorities as required.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores stated that the crash left a “massive crater” near the entrance to a mobile home park. Authorities began evacuating around 600 people from the surrounding area and relocating them to two shelters in the county, he added.
Forecaster AccuWeather said that heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were occurring in the area at the time of the crash.
An audio recording of communications between the aircraft’s cockpit and a Miami air traffic control centre captured the crew reporting difficulties shortly before the crash. The recording, published on LiveATC, is of a person in the cockpit initially telling an air traffic controller they were “managing the ice” while experiencing moderate turbulence and seeking “better rides”.
Less than a minute later, the person issued a “Mayday, mayday” call and reported that the aircraft was descending at 10,000 feet per minute.
Seconds later, the cockpit declared an emergency as the descent rate increased to 20,000 feet per minute. The person then warned, “We’re going to crash into the ground,” while reporting that the rate had reached 22,000 feet per minute as the aircraft began banking.
Around 35 seconds after the initial distress call, the last words heard from the cockpit were “We’re out of time”.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 reported that the aircraft’s vertical descent rate exceeded 32,000 feet per minute at one point.
Unverified dash-camera footage circulating on social media appeared to show the aircraft descending almost vertically towards a residential street before hitting the ground and erupting into a fireball.
