Nine Killed as Learjet That Left Austin Crashes Into a Florida Neighborhood
A Learjet 60 that departed Austin-Bergstrom for the Bahamas came down in a mobile home neighborhood near Greenacres, Florida, around 12:50 p.m. ET on Sunday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people aboard were killed; as of 4 p.m. ET, officials had confirmed no deaths on the ground.
GREENACRES, Fla. - All nine people aboard a Learjet 60 were killed Sunday after the plane crashed into a mobile home neighborhood near Greenacres, Florida, according to federal authorities, in a crash that left fires and scattered debris around Military Trail and 10th Avenue North. The plane went down around 12:50 p.m. ET, USA TODAY reported, citing the Palm Beach Post's reporting from the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Learjet 60 had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said all nine people on board the plane were killed. As of 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, there had been no confirmation of fatalities among people on the ground, and the identities of those aboard had not been released in the reports read this cycle.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB in charge and providing updates, the FAA said. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the incident closed all lanes of Military Trail in the area of Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North, and authorities told motorists to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
Weather in the West Palm Beach area on Sunday afternoon was overcast with rain and lightning nearby and winds from the east at 15 mph, gusting to near 25 mph, with visibility of 7 miles, according to the National Weather Service in Miami as reported by USA TODAY. No authority in the sources read this cycle has stated a cause for the crash, and investigators had not linked the weather to it.
