'Mayday mayday': Videos show moment Florida jet crashed near busy road

Videos recorded by motorists captured the moment a business jet carrying nine people plunged from the sky and exploded into a fireball near a busy roadway in Florida on Sunday. All nine people aboard the aircraft were killed, US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said as cited by news agency AP.The Bahamas-bound Learjet 60 crashed in Greenacres, in Palm Beach County, narrowly missing nearby homes and passing vehicles. The impact left a large crater on the roadside, with flames and thick black smoke engulfing the area.Air traffic control recordings reveal the desperate final moments of the flight, as the pilot reported worsening weather conditions, turbulence and ice accumulating on the aircraft before issuing distress calls."We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence," the pilot initially told air traffic controllers.The situation deteriorated rapidly after the aircraft encountered precipitation and requested permission to climb 2,000 feet. The jet began losing altitude at an alarming rate, prompting the pilot to declare an emergency."We're descending 8,000 – mayday, mayday - we're descending 10,000 feet per minute," the pilot radioed.The pilot later reported that the aircraft was in an overspeed condition as its descent accelerated."We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute," the pilot said before adding, "We're going to crash into the ground."According to air traffic control recordings and flight-tracking data, the aircraft had been flying east at 35,000 feet when it encountered turbulence, icing and precipitation. It subsequently entered a steep dive, with its descent rate reaching 30,000 feet per minute.Duffy said the Learjet crashed at 12:50 pm and described the incident as a "horrific tragedy". The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is sending a team to assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with the investigation.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths among people on the ground."It was a cataclysmic plane crash," DeSantis told reporters at the scene. "It looked like a missile going down and left a big crater on the side of the road."Authorities were evacuating around 600 people from a nearby mobile home community as a precaution. The road was also closed until further notice.The aircraft had taken off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, the FAA said. The identities of those aboard and the exact cause of the crash were not immediately known.The crash occurred as heavy rain battered the region, with a flood watch in effect until Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.