All nine people aboard a private jet that crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, died, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday. The crash site was about nine miles from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Duffy called the incident a “horrific tragedy” and said the FAA was sending a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation. The FAA and Transportation Department are monitoring the crash, he added.
The FAA said the Learjet 60 went down in a residential area near Cresthaven at about 12:50 p.m. on Nov. 1. It had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Authorities had not released the names of those killed.
Emergency crews closed Military Trail between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North and urged people to stay away. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said the response would continue for an extended period.
Dashcam video showed the jet dropping rapidly toward the ground before striking nose-first and bursting into flames.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the crash as “cataclysmic,” saying it looked like a missile falling from the sky. The impact left a large crater beside the road and scattered debris over a wide area, he said. Officials had no reports of injuries on the ground, though the debris field was extensive.
The crash also forced residents near a mobile home park to leave their homes. District 3 Commissioner Joel Flores said officials were arranging shelter for about 600 people affected by the incident. The crash site, at the entrance to the park, was being treated as a crime scene, so residents could not return. Two county shelters were being prepared to receive them.
