A business plane crashed in a Florida neighbourhood on Sunday, killing all nine persons on board, US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The crash occurred near Cresthaven, some nine miles (14 km) from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s property in the rich enclave of Palm Beach County, at about 12:50 EST (17:50 GMT).
Pictures show a massive crater in the midst of a multi-lane road, with fire and debris from the Learjet 60 aircraft dispersed across it, yet no one on the ground was wounded.
The aircraft was coming from Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
Map of the area around West Palm Beach, Fla. indicating the reported flight path of an aircraft. A red line comes from the northwest, snakes south of President Donald J. Trump International Airport, and terminates at a noted accident site near Palm Springs. The airport and Palm Springs are labelled, as are key landmarks such as West Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago on the Atlantic coast. Florida is shown on an inset map of the United States. Source: Flightradar24 Flight data suggests the jet was losing hundreds of feet per second before the disaster.
In air traffic control audio recorded moments before the disaster, someone in the cockpit can be heard reporting “moderate turbulence” and that the crew was “managing the ice”.
Then you hear the individual remark the plane was “picking up precipitation” and “we need to climb”. Minutes later the same voice told us the jet was dropping at 10,000ft (3,048m) a minute.
The crew member announced an emergency, claiming “we are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000ft per minute”, then saying “we are going to crash into the ground”.
The last comment from the cockpit was ‘we’re out of time’ about 35 seconds after the first mayday call.
A street with a smouldering hole full with rubble and burning debris.
A smoking hole at the accident site in Florida.
Unverified footage purporting to show a dash-cam recording of the moment of the crash has flooded social media. The video shows cars travelling down a suburban residential street when all of a sudden an aeroplane nose falls almost vertical onto the earth and explodes in a big flame.“When you see that video it’s a jarring thing,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference following the crash. “It’s like a missile coming down and a big explosion, flying debris everywhere.
It’s unclear who was on board the jet that crashed. DeSantis added “as of now, we don’t have any reports of anybody who was on the ground … who was killed or injured”.
“It’s a horrific tragedy,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The FAA was sending a team to the scene to assist the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the disaster.“Please pray with me for the families and loved ones of those we lost,” Duffy said.
It’s been labelled a “mass casualty incident” by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
There was a white automobile parked in front of the wreckage of the crash, and more further back. In the distant some individuals in hi-vis.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reported the incident occurred on Military Trail, a six-lane road that has businesses and restaurants.
DeSantis and local officials stated during a press conference that 600 local residents were being evacuated from a nearby trailer-park community.
The incident caused extensive damage to local infrastructure, including its water lines, they added, and the route will be closed for at least 30 days.
There had been reports of thunderstorms in the vicinity at the time of the crash and it was pouring down rain at the news conference.
Trump was at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday morning and left from a nearby airfield on Air Force One about an hour before the disaster.
About the Author
