A Learjet aircraft has crashed into a residential neighbourhood in southern Florida, killing all nine people on board, officials say.
The Learjet 60 was travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it crashed near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County yesterday.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the incident as a “horrific tragedy” in a statement confirming the deaths.
“Today’s plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy,” he said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also described the incident as a “cataclysmic plane crash”, saying the aircraft appeared to plunge towards the ground at high speed.
“It looked like a missile going down,” DeSantis told reporters near the crash site.
He added that there were no reports of injuries among people on the ground.
The crash happened less than seven miles (11km) from US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump had been at the resort earlier on Sunday but departed from the nearby airport aboard Air Force One about an hour before the aircraft crashed.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said the aircraft came down near the entrance to a mobile home park, forcing authorities to evacuate about 600 residents and move them to shelters.
An audio recording shared on air traffic monitoring website LiveATC.net suggests the aircraft encountered difficulties shortly before the crash.
A voice believed to be from the cockpit reported “moderate turbulence” and said the crew was “managing the ice”.
The recording also captured the speaker reporting that the aircraft was descending rapidly.
“Mayday, mayday, we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” the voice said.
The speaker later declared an emergency, adding: “We’re going to crash into the ground.”
Communication stopped shortly afterwards.
Storms had reportedly affected the area, although authorities have not established whether weather conditions contributed to the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would investigate the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
