9 killed as business jet crashes onto road near West Palm Beach, Florida
Nine people were killed after a business jet crashed onto a road near West Palm Beach, Florida, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The crew reported a rapid descent and warned air traffic controllers that the plane was about to hit the ground.
The Learjet 60 crashed at about 12:50 p.m. Sunday in a neighborhood near Cresthaven, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told BNO News. It departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine aboard were killed, calling the crash “a horrific tragedy.” There was no immediate word on whether anyone on the ground was injured.
The jet came down on South Military Trail near the entrance to a mobile home park and a strip mall parking lot at 3001 South Military Trail. Dashcam imagery captured the aircraft descending steeply, nose-first toward the roadway. It disintegrated on impact.
In air traffic control audio, the crew of the aircraft, identified as N722BD, declared an emergency and reported an increasingly rapid descent.
“Mayday, mayday. We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” a voice from the aircraft said. “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
“I’m here with you. Talk to me,” a controller responded.
“We are descending 22,000 feet and we are banking 60 degrees,” the crew said, followed by screaming and an unintelligible passage. “We’re going to die. Holy f*ck, we’re out of time,” the crew said before the transmission cut off.
The crash site is less than four miles from President Donald J. Trump International Airport, formerly Palm Beach International Airport, and about five to six miles from Mar-a-Lago.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
