A Learjet 60 crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Palm Beach County, southern Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board and triggering a major emergency response, officials have confirmed.
Several videos circulating on social media, which have not been independently verified, appeared to show the aircraft descending almost vertically before crashing into the ground, triggering a massive fireball and leaving a burning crater near a busy road.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a horrific tragedy, confirming that all nine occupants of the aircraft had died.
“Today’s plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy,” Duffy said in a statement.
He disclosed that the Learjet 60 had departed from Austin, Texas, and was heading to the Bahamas when it crashed.
The incident occurred near Cresthaven, a residential community in Palm Beach County, less than seven miles (11 kilometres) from US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who spoke to reporters near the crash site, described the incident as catastrophic.
“Obviously this is a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis said.
“It looked like a missile going down,” he added, noting that there were no immediate reports of injuries among people on the ground.
Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago earlier on Sunday but departed from the nearby President Donald J. Trump International Airport aboard Air Force One at 11:55 am (1655 GMT), approximately an hour before the Learjet crashed.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said the aircraft came down near the entrance to a mobile home park, prompting the evacuation of about 600 residents, who were relocated to shelters.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that it would investigate the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
“The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” the agency said in a statement.
The crash occurred amid reports of stormy weather in the area. Trump was seen carrying an umbrella while boarding Air Force One earlier in the day.
An audio recording published on the air traffic monitoring website LiveATC.net also captured what appeared to be communications from the aircraft’s cockpit shortly before the crash.
In the recording, a crew member reportedly described “moderate turbulence” and said the pilots were “managing the ice.”
The speaker also reported that the aircraft was “picking up precipitation” and needed “to climb” before declaring an emergency.
“Mayday, mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the crew member said.
Seconds later, the speaker reportedly declared another emergency as the aircraft’s descent rate increased to 20,000 feet per minute.
“We’re going to crash into the ground,” the person said shortly before radio communications ended.
The FAA and NTSB are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the aircraft’s reported weather conditions and the emergency communications recorded shortly before impact.
AFP
