FAA sends team to assist National Transportation Safety Board investigation
A business jet crashed in a Florida neighborhood on Sunday, killing all nine people aboard, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The crash happened near Cresthaven around 12:50 EST (17:50 GMT), about nine miles (14 km) from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach County. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said the crash occurred on Military Trail, a six-lane road with businesses and restaurants.
Images published by BBC News showed a large crater in the middle of the multi-lane road, with fire and debris from the Learjet 60 scattered across it. BBC News reported that nobody on the ground was hurt.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the aircraft had departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas. Flight analysis cited in the BBC News report indicated that the jet was plummeting hundreds of feet per second before the crash.
In air traffic control audio recorded moments before the crash, someone in the cockpit reported “moderate turbulence” and said the crew was “managing the ice”. The person then said the plane was “picking up precipitation” and “we need to climb”. Moments later, the same voice said the plane was descending at 10,000 feet (3,048 metres) per minute.
The crew member declared an emergency, yelling “we are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000ft per minute” before saying, “we are going to crash into the ground”. About 35 seconds after the initial mayday announcement, the last remark from the cockpit was “we’re out of time”.
Unverified footage posted on social media showed what appeared to be a dash-camera recording of the crash. It showed vehicles driving on a residential suburban street before an aircraft nosedived into the ground almost vertically and exploded into a large fireball. DeSantis told reporters at a news conference after the crash, “When you see that video, it’s a jarring thing.” He added, “It’s like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere.”
It was not yet clear who was aboard the jet, DeSantis said. He also said, “as of now, we don’t have any reports of anyone who was on the ground…who was killed or injured”. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared a “mass casualty incident”.
Duffy called the crash a “horrific tragedy” and said the FAA was sending a team to the scene to help the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation. He added, “Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost.”
At a news conference, DeSantis and local officials said 600 local residents were being evacuated from a nearby trailer-park community. DeSantis and local officials also said the impact caused considerable damage to local infrastructure, including water lines, and that it would be at least 30 days before the road re-opened.
Thunderstorms had been reported in the area at the time of the crash, and it was heavily raining when the news conference was held.
Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday morning and departed from a nearby airport on Air Force One about an hour before the crash.