A business jet carrying nine people crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, erupting into a fireball near a major roadway.
The Learjet 60 had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas bound for the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has not provided details of the passengers or crew, and it remained unclear whether anyone on board survived.
Video showed the aircraft plunging nose-first from the sky before striking the ground close to passing vehicles. The impact left a large crater in the pavement, with flames rising beside a utility pole.
The crash happened near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office closed roads in both directions and urged motorists to avoid the area as firefighters and other emergency personnel responded.
It was not immediately known whether anyone on the ground was injured. Footage from the scene showed burning pieces of pavement and thick black smoke drifting past palm trees near nearby homes.
Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, identified the aircraft’s tail number as N722BD. He said the crash was “definitely a tragedy” but could not say who had been on board.
A woman working nearby said the area had been without electricity for about two hours after the crash.
