Nine die in ‘cataclysmic’ Florida business jet crash

Nine people have died after a business jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood in South Florida, the United States.

All on board were killed in the crash, which US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described as a “horrific tragedy” in a post on X on Sunday.

Federal Aviation Administration staff were on their way to the crash site to support a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the incident, Duffy said.

Disturbing recordings in the plane’s cockpit shortly before the crash, retained by LiveATC.net, captured the pilot talking about “manageable” ice issues, before later saying the plane was rapidly losing altitude.

Shortly after, the panicked crew said, “We’re going to crash into the ground”.

The plane was a Learjet 60 – a popular business jet – heading from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas. Austin-Bergstrom International airport confirmed that the plane was a private jet, but not who was on board.

Videos of the incident circulating online appear to show the jet striking the ground at high speed and on a sharp angle, followed by a huge explosion.

Footage of the aftermath appears to show flames flickering around debris and chunks of pavement, with people milling around the area.

The plane looked to have fallen just metres from homes and cars, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters that there appeared to be no casualties on the ground.

Speaking from the scene, DeSantis described the crash as “cataclysmic” and said the plane “looked like a missile going down, and left a big crater on the side of the road”.