Learjet 60 Plunges Into Florida Street, Killing All Nine Passengers

A Learjet 60 crashed into a residential area in South Florida on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people on board. The aircraft, which was bound for the Bahamas, struck the ground in the Green Acres neighborhood and exploded. The impact created a large crater near a roadway, with thick black smoke rising from the debris.

Passersby filmed the jet descending rapidly before it hit the pavement. Anthony Blackmon, a resident living near the crash site, described the scene to NBC affiliate WTVJ. He said debris struck his house and set the surrounding road and structures on fire. Blackmon noted that the event felt surreal because it happened so close to his home.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited the site and described the crash as cataclysmic. He said the jet looked like a missile falling from the sky. DeSantis reported that there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths among people on the ground. Authorities have not yet released the names of the nine victims.

Air traffic control recordings indicate the pilot reported problems while flying east at 35,000 feet. The pilot told controllers that light, clear ice was accumulating on the jet and that turbulence was causing the plane to jolt by as much as 700 feet. Rain was falling in the region at the time of the incident.

The pilot requested permission to climb 2,000 feet and then declared an emergency as the aircraft lost altitude quickly. Radio communications captured by LiveATC.net show the pilot stating the jet was descending at 8,000 feet per minute before the rate increased to 10,000 feet per minute. The pilot later reported an overspeed condition with a descent rate of 20,000 feet per minute and acknowledged that the plane was going to crash into the ground.

Palm Beach County authorities evacuated approximately 600 people from a nearby mobile home community while federal agencies investigated the scene. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation. Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, confirmed the aircraft was private and departed from that location. The NTSB planned to hold a news conference in West Palm Beach on Monday to provide further details.