A Florida Learjet crash killed all nine people on board after the business jet plunged to the ground near West Palm Beach, erupting into a fireball and leaving nearby residents shaken.
The aircraft came down at about 12.50pm on Sunday near the intersection of Military Trail and 10th Avenue North, close to Greenacres and around eight miles from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
A mother and her son were preparing to leave their apartment when they heard what she described as a “super big explosion”. The impact caused the building to shake, cut power and sent black smoke rising outside.
Her son initially thought the noise was “like a ginormous lightning strike”, while his mother said the sound was “very massive, huge”. Electricity returned about seven minutes later, followed by the sound of sirens.
Other witnesses said they were lifted from the ground as the road buckled and flames spread across the crash site. Dashcam footage showed the jet falling sharply before striking the road and exploding.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who visited the scene in heavy rain, said the aircraft appeared to come down “like a missile” and described “a massive explosion, debris going everywhere”.
The impact created a large crater and damaged nearby infrastructure. No one on the ground was reported to have been injured or killed, but debris was scattered across a wide area.
Almost 600 residents of a nearby mobile home community have been forced to relocate because the entrance to the neighbourhood is next to the wreckage, which remains a crime scene.
“Unfortunately, that’s a crime scene. They’re investigating that, so the people can’t stay there,” Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said.
County officials are preparing two shelters for those displaced, with the American Red Cross on standby. The crash also damaged services including water infrastructure, officials said.
The section of road where the aircraft came down is not expected to reopen within the next 30 days. Nearby businesses may also remain closed while crews repair the roadway and federal investigators examine the wreckage.
Investigation into Florida Learjet crash
The cause of the crash remains unclear. The Learjet 60 had been flying from Austin, Texas, to North Eleuthera in the Bahamas when its journey ended near West Palm Beach.
Air traffic control recordings indicate that pilots had been authorised to deviate left and right because of “moderate precipitation” to the south-east, described by controllers as “pretty nasty”. Controllers later reported moderate turbulence.
Seconds before the crash, the female pilot reported a rapid descent and declared an emergency. She said: “Seven two two bravo delta, we’re descending 8,000… mayday mayday… we’re descending 10,000 ft per minute.”
She then said: “Declaring emergency, declaring emergency we are in an overspeed condition,” followed by: “Descending 20,000 ft per minute…we’re going to crash into the ground.”
The pilot later reported that the aircraft was descending at 22,000ft a minute and banking at 60 degrees, before saying: “We’re out of time.” The final seconds of the recording have not been released.
DeSantis said the aircraft’s descent suggested that “something happened in the air that was a big problem”, although investigators have yet to establish what caused the crash.
Conditions in the area were overcast, with rain and lightning and easterly winds of 15mph gusting to nearly 25mph. Visibility was reported as seven miles.
