Private plane carrying nine aboard crashes in Florida and erupts in massive fireball - The Independent

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At least nine people are dead after a plane crashed in Florida’s Palm Beach County on Sunday and erupted into a big fireball.

The Learjet 60 went down in a neighborhood near Cresthaven in South Florida at 12:50 p.m. All nine people onboard the business jet were killed, according to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The Bahamas-bound flight had departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas.

“Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy,” Duffy wrote.

“Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost — Federal Aviation Administration & U.S. Department of Transportation are closely monitoring this crash and will share updates as we learn more.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone on the ground was injured or what caused the jet to crash.

Teams with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were headed to the scene, located near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North.

The crash site is located roughly eight miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump was in Iowa for a midterms election rally around the time of the crash.

Jim Reynolds, spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the plane was a private aircraft with tail number N722BD but he could not yet provide details about who was onboard.

“This is definitely a tragedy,” he said.

Video captured by witnesses inside their cars showed the aircraft nose-diving from the sky and exploding into a giant ball of flames on a major road, inches from passing cars.

The crash left a huge crater in the pavement, with flames seen leaping up near a roadside utility pole.

Chunks of pavement were engulfed in flames as people stood nearby, expressing shock that it landed feet from homes. Black smoke billowed out of the hole in the ground.

It was unclear if the crash caused any damage to homes.