A close-up footage of the Bahamas-bound Learjet that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, shows the large crater from the business jet crash. Nine people died when the jet crashed and erupted in flames.
Here’s the footage:
National Transportation Safety Board records say that this crash is the second deadliest in the United States this year, after June’s skydiving plane crash in Butler, Missouri, which killed 12 people. The nine victims’ identities have not been released yet. It also remains unknown how many passengers and crew were in the plane.
What we know about the Florida crash
Deep Dive
Where did the Learjet crash, and where was it headed?
What did the pilot report before the Florida Learjet crash?
Has the cause of the Learjet crash been determined?
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that there are no reports of anyone on the ground being killed. However, the crash created a significant debris field.
{{/usCountry}}Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that there are no reports of anyone on the ground being killed. However, the crash created a significant debris field.
{{/usCountry}}“It looked like a missile going down,” DeSantis said of the crash, per CNN.
A county official reportedly said that about 600 people are in need of shelter on the ground due to the crash.
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Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffycalled the crash a “horrific tragedy.”
Duffy confirmed in an X post that the jet had “departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas” and that the “FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the @NTSB's investigation.”
The FAA has said that it will investigate the crash along with the NTSB.
Air traffic control radio calls
The crash took place near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Just minutes before the tragedy, the pilot reported ice accumulating on the aircraft, an outside air temperature of -47 degrees Celsius, and moderate turbulence, bouncing the plane by up to 700 feet, according to a recording of air traffic control radio calls captured by LiveATC.net.
“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” the pilot radioed the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.
However, just moments later, after reporting precipitation started to fall and requesting to climb, an emergency was declared.
Also Read | 'Mayday, Mayday!': Final cockpit audio emerges after Learjet crash kills 9 in Florida
“We’re descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday - we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the pilot said. “We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute … We’re going to crash into the ground.”
ADS-B Exchange revealed that the aircraft descended 27,000 feet over the course of one minute, just before flight tracking data was cut off.
Joel Flores, Palm Beach County commissioner for District 3, said that about 600 people require shelter after the crash due to damage on the ground. He added that the residents are being sent to two shelters in the county. Meanwhile, the site is being investigated.