Nine dead in Florida private jet crash
All nine people on board a private jet died when it crashed onto a road in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The cause has not been established.
A private Learjet 60 crashed onto a road in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, November 1, and all nine people on board died, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. The jet had left Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas for the Bahamas and went down at about 12:50 p.m. local time, according to Nagarik News, Annapurna Post and BBC News Nepali. BBC News Nepali and Annapurna Post reported that those on board had not been officially identified. As of Monday, November 2, the outlets cited here reported nine deaths, all of them among the people on the aircraft.
Emergency and impact
Nagarik News reported that the pilot declared an emergency and said over the radio that the aircraft was going to hit the ground. BBC News Nepali, citing air traffic control audio released by CBS News, reported that the pilot said the jet was in an overspeed condition. Reports differ on how fast it was falling: BBC News Nepali said the pilot first gave a rate of 10,000 feet per minute and then 20,000; Nagarik News, citing air traffic control records, put it between 10,000 and 30,000 feet per minute; and Annapurna Post, citing flight-tracking data, said that at the end the jet was falling at more than 20,000 feet per minute and dropped 27,000 feet in about a minute.
The jet came down on Military Trail, a six-lane road lined with businesses and restaurants, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office as reported by BBC News Nepali. The crash left a large crater and, officials said, major damage to infrastructure including water pipelines; the road could take at least 30 days to reopen. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference that the scene looked as if a missile had fallen from the sky, with a huge explosion and debris thrown in every direction.
Officials moved about 600 residents out of a nearby mobile home community. Annapurna Post reported that the community's main entrance was blocked and its power was cut. DeSantis said no injuries or deaths had been reported among people on the ground as of his news conference on Sunday. Duffy called the crash a tragic accident. According to Nagarik News and BBC News Nepali, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sent a team to help the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigate.
Weather and investigation
A storm warning was in effect in the area at the time of the crash, and heavy rain was falling during the officials' news conference, BBC News Nepali reported. Nagarik News reported that the pilot had told controllers of strong turbulence, rain and ice on the aircraft during the flight. Annapurna Post, citing air traffic control records, said the pilot reported icing and severe turbulence in extreme cold of minus 47 degrees Celsius a few minutes before the crash, and then sent a Mayday call. The cause has not been established; Annapurna Post said investigators were also looking at the effect of the weather.