Jet nosedives and erupts into fireball near busy roadway in South Florida. All 9 on board died

A concern pitchy carrying 9 radical nose-dived into a South Florida vicinity Sunday and erupted into a elephantine fireball that appeared to conscionable miss homes adjacent a engaged roadway. Everyone connected committee was killed, the nation's proscription caput said.

Video recorded by radical wrong their cars captured the terrifying infinitesimal the Bahamas-bound craft plunged from the entity earlier striking adjacent the Palm Beach County roadway and exploding. Flames flickered astir chunks of pavement lining a crater arsenic radical milled about, expressing daze that it landed lone feet from homes and inches from passing vehicles. Thick achromatic fume engulfed the clang site.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted connected X that the Learjet 60 crashed successful Palm Beach County astatine 12:50 p.m. and called it a “horrific tragedy.” The Federal Aviation Administration is sending a squad to enactment the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, helium said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said determination were nary contiguous reports of anyone connected the crushed injured oregon killed.

“It was a cataclysmic level crash,” DeSantis told reporters astatine the scene. “It looked similar a rocket going down and near a large crater connected the broadside of the road.”

Rain pounded the portion connected Sunday. A flood ticker owed to excessive rainfall was successful effect done Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.

The craft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport successful Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Authorities did not instantly accidental what caused the pitchy to spell down oregon who was connected it.

The level was heading eastbound astatine 35,000 feet (about 11 kilometers) erstwhile pilots reported turbulence, icing and precipitation and requested to ascent different 2,000 feet (about 610 meters).

Moments later, the level entered a steep dive, archetypal 10,000 feet per minute, past 20,000 feet per infinitesimal and up to 30,000 feet per minute, speeding the level beyond its plan limits, according to aerial postulation power recordings and formation tracking data.

A aviator declared an exigency and issued distress calls. The level banked sharply to the close earlier it smashed into the ground.

Minutes earlier the crash, the aviator reported crystal accumulating connected the pitchy and turbulence that was jolting it by arsenic overmuch arsenic 700 feet (213 meters), according to aerial postulation power recordings captured by LiveATC.net.

“We person light, wide crystal that is manageable and mean turbulence,” the aviator told controllers.

But the concern rapidly deteriorated. After encountering precipitation and requesting to climb, the aviator declared an exigency arsenic the craft began losing altitude astatine an alarming rate.

“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday - we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the aviator radioed.

“We are successful an overspeed information descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the aviator radioed, earlier delivering a devastating acknowledgment of what was astir to happen. “We’re going to clang into the ground.”

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the pitchy was a backstage aircraft. He could not instantly supply details astir who was connected the flight.

Steve Arroyo, an aviation information expert, said icing and turbulence could person been factors successful the clang and whitethorn person caused the level to stall portion it was cruising astatine 34,000 feet (10,363 meters).

There are galore imaginable factors and the NTSB volition see each of them, including however the aviator responded to the icing and turbulence reported implicit the radio. But investigators won’t regularisation thing retired astatine this aboriginal stage, helium said.

The NTSB said investigators were expected to get astatine the clang tract connected Sunday and Monday. A media briefing is scheduled for Monday successful West Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County authorities were evacuating astir 600 radical from a adjacent mobile location assemblage portion national officials analyse the crash. The roadworthy volition beryllium closed until further notice, region officials said.

The clang occurred successful Greenacres, Florida, according to Palm Beach County sheriff’s officials. The metropolis of 45,000 radical is astir 7 miles (11 kilometers) southwest of West Palm Beach.

___

Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed from Gretna, Nebraska.