A private jet carrying nine people crashed into a residential neighborhood in South Florida on Sunday afternoon and killing everyone on board according to US transportation officials.
The Bombardier Learjet 60 had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was heading to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it plunged from the sky around 12:50 p.m.
Bystander videos posted on social media showed the aircraft slamming into the ground next to a road in Greenacres near Lake Worth Beach before exploding into a fireball. The impact created a massive crater near the entrance of a mobile home park just feet from homes and passing vehicles.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed there were no immediate reports of casualties on the ground, calling the incident a "cataclysmic crash." Local authorities evacuated approximately 600 residents from the nearby mobile home community to temporary shelters while safety officials secured the area.
Severe weather including heavy rainfall and thunderstorms was reported in the region at the time of the crash.
Air traffic control audio recordings captured the flight’s final moments. The pilot initially reported light ice accumulation and moderate turbulence while cruising at 35,000 feet and requesting to climb to a higher altitude.
Less than a minute later the situation deteriorated rapidly. The pilot issued distress calls and reporting an extreme descent rate that quickly accelerated from 10,000 feet per minute to over 20,000 feet per minute. Flight tracking data indicated the vertical descent rate briefly exceeded 32,000 feet per minute far beyond the aircraft's structural limits before the jet banked sharply and hit the ground.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched a full investigation to determine the exact cause of the tragedy. Aviation experts noted that severe icing and turbulence could have triggered an aerodynamic stall at high altitude though investigators stress that all potential factors remain under review.
