Plane crash near Greenacres killed all nine people aboard, U.S. says

Federal authorities said that the plane crash Sunday near Greenacres was a Learjet with nine people aboard and had departed Austin, Texas and was headed to the Bahamas.

The plane crashed into a mobile home neighborhood around 12:50 p.m. in the area of Military Trail and 10th Avenue North, causing major destruction, including fires and scattered debris.

All nine people aboard the plane died, Sean Duffy, the U.S. secretary of transportation, said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, made just before 4 p.m. He called the crash a "horrific tragedy."

The FAA said the Learjet 60 departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates.

The incident closed all lanes of Military Trail in the area of Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities said motorists should are avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

Postings on Facebook show a fairly wide swath of area spotted with fires, debris and what looks like a crater in the ground.

A video circulating online of a plane making a nosedive into the ground is said to be the Learjet, but The Palm Beach Post is not sharing that video as it has not been confirmed. The video is said to be from a driver's dashcam video.

The cause of the crash is unknown. Some chatter on social media raised the suspicion that the plane could have been shot down because flight restrictions were in place as President Donald Trump was in town this weekend . Trump departed President Donald J. Trump International Airport for Iowa around noon.

The Palm Beach Post reported recently that military air defense systems have been positioned around the president's Mar-a-Lago club and home and the surrounding area. Planes that fly into the restricted airspace are diverted, usually by military jets. Multiple planes have violated the airspace since Trump first took office, but a plane has never been shot down in Palm Beach County because of the airspace violations.

The upgraded security systems, a pair of Avenger Air Defense Systems , are positioned on a floating barge in the Lake Worth Lagoon on the west side of the seawall next to Trump's Mar-a-Lago. A separate bank of Avenger Air Defense Systems are positioned on the south side of Trump international airport, near the area where Air Force One parks during Trump's visits to Palm Beach.

Each Avenger comprises a modified Humvee equipped with a rotating turret that has two pods capable of launching short-range infrared-homing Stinger missiles, according to a U.S. Army website. The Avenger's targets could include cruise missiles, drones, helicopters and low-flying and high-speed fixed-wing aircraft, according to the Army.

As of Sunday night, there was no indication the Learjet was shot down.

Weather conditions in the West Palm Beach area on Sunday afternoon were overcast with rain and lightning in the area and winds from the east at 15 mph, gusting to near 25 mph. The National Weather Service in Miami said visibility was 7 miles.

The crash site is in an unincorporated area near Greenacres and Palm Springs.

The Village of Palm Springs said it has officials on the scene monitoring any effect the crash will have on water and sewer services. If residents experience disruptions, they should call the Utilities Department at (561) 584-8200.

Check back for updates on this Breaking News story.