Business jet crashes in Florida neighborhood, killing nine people on board

WEST PALM BEACH — A business jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in Florida on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people on board and prompting emergency evacuations, according to federal and local authorities.

The aircraft, identified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Learjet 60, had departed from Austin, Texas, and was en route to the Bahamas. The crash occurred at approximately 12:50 EST (17:50 GMT) near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County, roughly nine miles from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue declared a mass casualty incident following the impact on Military Trail, a six-lane road lined with local businesses and eateries.

According to CBS News reporting on air traffic control audio, the pilot reported descending 10,000 feet per minute and declared an emergency before stating, “We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute.” Moments later, the pilot radioed the tower, saying, “We’re gonna crash … We’re out of time.”

US media reports and flight analysis indicated the aircraft plummeted hundreds of feet per second prior to impact. Unverified footage posted on social media captured the aircraft nosediving almost vertically before erupting into a fireball. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis remarked during a news conference that the footage looked “like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere.”

DeSantis confirmed that, as of the news conference, there were no reports of fatalities or injuries among individuals on the ground. Thunderstorms were reported in the area at the time of the incident, though authorities have not yet established a formal cause for the crash.

Local infrastructure sustained significant damage, including ruptured water lines. Officials ordered the evacuation of approximately 600 local residents from a nearby trailer-park community. Authorities stated that Military Trail will remain closed to traffic for at least 30 days to accommodate infrastructure repairs and ongoing recovery work.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a “horrific tragedy” and urged the public to keep the victims’ families in their prayers. Duffy announced that the FAA is dispatching an investigative team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in determining the cause of the disaster.

Background records indicate that Donald Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago earlier on Sunday and departed from a nearby airport aboard Air Force One roughly one hour before the crash occurred.