Palm Beach, US, November 2
All nine people aboard a Learjet have died after it crashed in southern Florida on Sunday, about 11 km from US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, officials said.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine people on the plane died in the crash in Palm Beach County. According to him, the Learjet 60 was flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.
The aircraft came down beside a busy road near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County. Unverified footage shared on social media shows the plane hitting the ground at high speed, followed by a huge fireball.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called it a devastating plane crash. He said there were no reports of injuries to others on the ground at the site.
Trump was at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the crash. He reportedly left on Air Force One from President Donald J. Trump International Airport, which is near the crash site, at 11:55 am, about an hour before the crash.
According to Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores, the plane fell near the entrance to a mobile home community. About 600 residents there were moved to safety after the crash.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board said they will investigate the crash. Storms were reported in the area before the crash.
In air traffic communications archived on the flight-tracking website LiveATC.net, the crew can be heard reporting moderate turbulence and icing. Shortly after saying the plane was entering a rainy area and needed to climb, the crew sent a “Mayday” distress call.
The recording indicates the plane was reported to be descending at 10,000 feet per minute. A few seconds later, the crew declared an emergency, noting that the rate of descent had reached 20,000 feet per minute. Before contact was lost, a crew member said the plane was falling toward the ground.
