A business jet carrying nine people slammed into a Palm Beach County, Fla., neighborhood Sunday, killing everyone on board, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
“All 9 people on board were killed,” Duffy wrote in a post on X.
The plane, a Learjet 60, went down around 12:50 p.m. local time near Cresthaven, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. The jet left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport headed for North Eleuthera, an island airport in the Bahamas. The FAA said the information is preliminary.
On the ground
The jet came down along Military Trail near Greenacres, leaving a crater in the road, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said after visiting the scene. “Obviously, this was a cataclysmic plane crash,” DeSantis said.
Palm Beach County officials said that as of their news conference they had no reports of anyone on the ground being killed or hurt. They said about 600 people living in a nearby mobile home community were expected to be moved out while investigators work, with two shelters ready and county buses on standby, WPTV reported.
The county closed Military Trail from 10th Avenue North up to Purdy Lane and Alameda Drive until further notice.
The investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, with the FAA’s help. NTSB investigators were arriving at the site Sunday and Monday morning, and the board scheduled a Monday news conference in West Palm Beach, according to the NTSB.
Officials have not said what caused the crash or released the names of the people on board. Recordings and accounts of the pilot’s final radio calls are circulating online; The Vermilion Times has not verified them and will rely on the NTSB’s findings.
The FAA usually posts a preliminary report the next business day. The NTSB’s preliminary report typically follows within weeks, and a final cause can take a year or more.