Illustration. This is not an image of the crash scene.

Author: FFP Ai Bot

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – All nine people aboard a private Learjet 60 were killed Sunday afternoon when the jet crashed onto a road in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, federal and state officials said.

The jet left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. It went down around 12:50 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, near Cresthaven, a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people on board died. He called the crash a “horrific tragedy” in a social media post and asked people to pray “for the families and loved ones of those we lost.”

The identities of the people on board have not been released. The FAA said questions about those aboard should go to local authorities.

‘Like a missile going down’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the crash “cataclysmic.”

“It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road,” DeSantis told reporters, according to NBC News and the Miami Herald. He said debris was thrown across “a pretty significant distance” but that there were no reports of anyone on the ground being hurt or killed.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said the jet came down on Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, the Miami Herald reported. The National Transportation Safety Board said the jet, tail number N722BD, lost radar and radio contact around 1:25 p.m. while en route and crashed in the Lake Worth Beach area, according to the Herald. The FAA and the NTSB gave different times, and that difference had not been explained as of Sunday evening.

FAA records show the jet is registered to LR60271 LLC of Wilmington, Delaware. An Austin-Bergstrom spokesperson said it was a private, general aviation flight.

Pilot reported ice and turbulence

Air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net, reported by NBC News and the Miami Herald, captured the pilot’s last minutes. About two minutes before the crash, she reported “light, clear ice” that she called “manageable” and moderate turbulence. She then said the jet was “picking up precipitation” and asked to climb.

Moments later she called “Mayday, mayday” and said the jet was descending 10,000 feet per minute, then 20,000 feet per minute. “We’re gonna crash into the ground,” she said before the transmission ended.

The National Weather Service had a flood watch in place Sunday for South Florida, with showers and scattered thunderstorms expected through Monday. Officials have not said what caused the crash.

Road closed, residents evacuated

The Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center said Military Trail between 10th Avenue North and Purdy Lane/Alemeda Drive will stay closed until further notice, and only emergency vehicles will be let through. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said it “will be an extended incident.”

Residents of a mobile home park near the wreckage were evacuated. “We have about 600 people that we have to make sure that they have shelter tonight,” Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said, according to NBC News.

The FAA and the NTSB are investigating. The NTSB said more information is expected Monday at a briefing in West Palm Beach.

This is a developing story and will be updated as officials release more information.

Sources: FAA, NBC News, Associated Press, Miami Herald.