Nine dead as Learjet crashes into Florida neighborhood

(Bloomberg) — Nine people aboard a Learjet en route from Austin to the Bahamas were killed when it crashed in Florida’s Palm Beach County on Sunday.

The Learjet 60 crashed near Cresthaven at 12:50 p.m., U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X. The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a team to the scene to support the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, Duffy said. The crash site is a short distance from Greenacres, Fla., Phillip Konz, the city’s fire chief, said by email.

The jet headed east at 35,000 feet (about 11 kilometers) when the pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested a climb of 2,000 feet, the AP reported. It entered a steep descent moments later, according to air traffic control records and flight tracking data cited by the AP.

The pilot declared an emergency and issued distress calls, the AP reported. The aircraft banked sharply to the right before plummeting to the ground.

Videos on social media showed the jet crashing straight into the ground at high speed.

NTSB officials plan to hold a media briefing on Monday, the safety board said.

“Obviously this was a catastrophic plane crash,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters in a video released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “It looked like a rocket had come down and left a big crater on the side of the road.

About 600 residents are being assisted with temporary shelter and other essentials, according to the sheriff’s office.

The plane departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, according to the FAA.

(Update with comments by DeSantis, displaced residents starting in the seventh paragraph. An earlier version corrected the crash site.)

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