Learjet crash in Florida kills all nine aboard, officials confirm

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that all nine people aboard a business jet died when the aircraft crashed in Florida on Sunday. The Learjet 60 struck the ground at 12:50 p.m. in Palm Beach County, ending a flight from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas.

The plane nosedived into a neighborhood near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North. Witnesses captured video of the jet hitting the area near a busy roadway and exploding into a fireball. Debris and flames appeared to strike close to nearby homes and passing vehicles. Thick black smoke covered the site as emergency crews arrived to manage the scene.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is dispatching a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board with the investigation. Duffy described the incident as a horrific tragedy in a post on social media. He did not provide immediate details on the cause of the crash or the identities of the passengers.

Jim Reynolds, a spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, stated that the aircraft was private. He noted that authorities had not yet released information about who was on the flight. Local power outages affected the area for approximately two hours following the impact.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office officials closed roads in both directions and asked drivers to avoid the vicinity. Firefighters and other emergency personnel secured the site. It remained unclear if any homes sustained damage from the crash or the resulting fire.