A private Learjet 60 crashed and exploded in a residential neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, according to US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Duffy announced the deaths on X and described the incident as a "terrible tragedy."
The aircraft had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was headed to the Bahamas, the US Federal Aviation Administration said. The crash occurred at 12:50 p.m. local time. The FAA said it will investigate the accident with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The crash site was about 10 kilometers from Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's residence in Palm Beach County, according to information from the local sheriff's office. The US president had left the property late Sunday morning and was traveling to Iowa and Kansas when the accident happened.
Videos circulating on social media showed the jet diving nose-first toward the ground before exploding into a large fireball on impact. The crash left a large crater in the roadway, close to a road and vehicles in traffic, and footage showed people running toward the stricken area, apparently stunned that the aircraft had come down only meters from homes.
Sources: Le Figaro.