Nine killed in Palm Beach County jet crash

Nine people died when a private jet crashed into a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the deaths in a post on X. He described the incident as a horrific tragedy. The aircraft was a Learjet 60 that crashed at 12:50 p.m. local time.

Video from nearby cars showed the plane diving sharply before hitting the ground near a busy roadway. The impact created a large fireball and a crater in the pavement. Flames burned around chunks of broken road. Thick black smoke rose from the site as onlookers gathered.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters that no one on the ground was immediately reported injured or killed. He described the scene as a cataclysmic plane crash. He said the jet looked like a missile coming down and left a big crater on the side of the road.

Air traffic control recordings show the pilot reported light ice and moderate turbulence shortly before the crash. The pilot told controllers the ice was manageable. The jet was heading east at 35,000 feet when the pilots requested to climb 2,000 feet due to icing and precipitation.

The plane then entered a steep dive. Flight tracking data shows the descent rate increased from 10,000 feet per minute to 30,000 feet per minute. The aircraft exceeded its design speed limits. The pilot declared an emergency and radioed that the plane was in an overspeed condition.

The pilot stated, We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute. He then said, We are going to crash into the ground. The jet banked sharply to the right before hitting the ground.

The aircraft departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for the Bahamas. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for the airport, confirmed the jet was a private aircraft. He did not name the people on board. Palm Beach County authorities evacuated about 600 residents from a nearby mobile home community. The road near the crash site remains closed.