Videos capture the final moments of a Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 before it crashed and burst into flames near a busy Florida roadway, killing all nine aboard.
All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed, US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said as cited by news agency AP. Videos recorded by motorists captured the moment a business jet carrying nine people plunged from the sky and exploded into a fireball near a busy roadway in Florida on Sunday.
The aircraft had been flying east at 35,000 feet when it encountered turbulence, icing and precipitation, according to air traffic control recordings and flight-tracking data. It subsequently entered a steep dive, with its descent rate reaching 30,000 feet per minute. Authorities were evacuating around 600 people from a nearby mobile home community as a precaution.
Duffy said the Learjet crashed at 12:50 pm and described the incident as a “horrific tragedy”. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths among people on the ground. “It was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis told reporters at the scene. The aircraft had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, the FAA said. The crash occurred as heavy rain battered the region, with a flood watch in effect until Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is sending a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with the investigation. “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road. The road was also closed until further notice. The identities of those aboard and the exact cause of the crash were not immediately known. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 crashed in Greenacres, in Palm Beach County, narrowly missing nearby homes and passing vehicles. The situation deteriorated rapidly after the aircraft encountered precipitation and requested permission to climb 2,000 feet. Earlier reporting noted: 9 dead as Florida jet crashes near busy roadway Emergency crews respond after a Learjet 60 crashed into a South Florida neighbourhood, killing all nine people on board Earlier reporting noted: All nine people aboard a business jet were killed after it crashed into a South Florida neighbourhood on Sunday, US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said. Earlier reporting noted: The Learjet 60, which departed from Austin, Texas, was headed to the Bahamas when it nose-dived into the neighbourhood and burst into flames.
Air traffic control recordings reveal the desperate final moments of the flight, as the pilot reported worsening weather conditions, turbulence and ice accumulating on the aircraft before issuing distress calls. The pilot later reported that the aircraft was in an overspeed condition as its descent accelerated. The crash created a large fiery crater in the pavement near a busy roadway, news agency AP reported.
“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot initially told air traffic controllers. “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 said before adding, “We’re going to crash into the ground.
The impact left a large crater on the roadside, with flames and thick black smoke engulfing the area. The jet began losing altitude at an alarming rate, prompting the pilot to declare an emergency.