NTSB planned Monday update as crash cause remained unknown

Anthony Blackmon, who lives near the crash site in Green Acres, described the scene after the business jet came down Sunday. “Debris was everywhere. Debris hit my house. Everything was on fire. The road was on fire,” Blackmon told NBC affiliate WTVJ. “I’ve always seen it on the news, never thought it would happen so close to somebody like how it happened today.”

Sunday-afternoon video recorded by passersby showed the Bahamas-bound aircraft plunge from the sky, strike the ground and explode in Green Acres, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of West Palm Beach. The impact left a fiery crater edged with chunks of broken pavement. Flames moved around the pieces as nearby residents watched, and thick black smoke blanketed the crash site.

Palm Beach County authorities were evacuating about 600 people from a nearby mobile home community while the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the crash. All nine people aboard died, and authorities had not released their names. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of anyone on the ground injured or killed.

Authorities had not provided information about what caused the Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 to crash. NTSB officials planned to hold a news conference in West Palm Beach on Monday, and federal investigators were expected to provide an update then.

The jet began its journey at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas. Airport spokesperson Jim Reynolds described it as a private aircraft and said he could not immediately provide details about who was on board.

According to air traffic control recordings captured by LiveATC.net, the plane was heading east at 35,000 feet (about 11 kilometers) when the pilot began reporting problems. The pilot said ice was accumulating on the jet and turbulence was jolting it by as much as 700 feet (213 meters). Heavy rain fell across the region Sunday. “We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot told controllers.

The pilot requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet (about 610 meters), then quickly declared an emergency as the jet lost altitude at an alarming rate. The recordings captured the pilot saying the jet was descending 8,000, calling a mayday and then reporting a descent of 10,000 feet per minute.

The pilot subsequently reported an overspeed condition during a descent of 20,000 feet per minute, then told controllers the jet was going to crash into the ground. The plane banked sharply to the right before crashing and exploding.

At the scene, DeSantis told reporters, “It was a cataclysmic plane crash.” He added, “It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road.”

Amy Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California, and Associated Press transportation writer Josh Funk contributed from Gretna, Nebraska.