Jet crashes in Florida, killing all 9 on board

All nine people on board a Learjet 60 jet died in a “cataclysmic” crash in Florida on Sunday afternoon, officials said. The flight, which departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas, crashed near Cresthaven around 12:50 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine on the flight died. He called the crash a “horrific tragedy” on social media, adding, “Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost.” The identities of the people on board have not been released. Video showed a crater in the middle of a road engulfed in flames. In distressing air traffic control audio, a woman can be heard saying, “Mayday, mayday. We’re descending 10,000 feet per minute.” She later frantically yells, saying the jet was descending at 20,000 feet per minute. “We’re gonna crash into the ground 722 Bravo Delta,” she can be heard saying, followed by a scream. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the crash as “cataclysmic.” “It looked like a missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road,” DeSantis told reporters after the crash. He said the crash spewed a large amount of debris that spanned a “pretty significant distance” but that there were no reports of anyone on the ground being injured or killed. The aircraft is registered to an LLC in Delaware, according to FAA records. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said an aircraft incident was under investigation in the area of Military Trail, and all northbound and southbound lanes are closed until further notice.